WAR    DIARY 


OF    EVENTS 


IN    THE 


WAR   OF  THE    GREAT   REBELLION. 
1863-1865. 


BY 


GEORGE  H.  GORDON, 

LATE   COLONEL   SECOND   MASSACHUSETTS    INFANTRY,    BRIGADIER-GENERAL,    AND    BREVET 
MAJOR-GENERAL   U.  S.  VOLUNTEERS    IN   THE  WAR;     AUTHOR   OF    "THE    ARMY  OF 

VIRGINIA"  (POPE'S  CAMPAIGN),    "THE  SECOND  MASSACHUSETTS,  AND 

STONEWALL  JACKSON ;"   MEMBER  OF  THE   MASSACHUSETTS 

MILITARY   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 


BOSTON: 

JAMES    R.   OSGOOD   AND    COMPANY. 
1882. 


.Of 


Copyright,  1882, 
BY  GEORGE  H.  GORDON. 

All  rights  reserved. 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS: 
JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE. 


PEEFACE. 


CONFORMING  to  my  original  plan,  to  record  only  those 
battles  and  events  of  the  War  of  the  Great  Rebellion  in 
which  I  was  engaged,  or  with  which  I  was  immediately 
connected,  I  have,  in  these  pages  from  my  Diary,  con 
tinued  the  narrative  from  its  previous  ending  in  the 
Army  of  Virginia  with  Dope's  campaign  in  1862  (only 
omitting  the  Battle  of  Antietam,  the  history  of  which  is 
yet  to  be  written),  to  the  close,  in  1865.  In  two  pam 
phlets,  and  in  the  "  Second  Massachusetts  and  Stonewall 
Jackson "  (printed  for  .private  circulation),  now  being 
revised  and  prepared  for  publication  in  a  single  volume, 
will  be  found  a  similar  record,  beginning  with  the  organi 
zation  of  the  Second  Massachusetts  Eegiment  in  1861, 
and  ending  with  the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain  in  the  fall 
of  1862,  —  thus  connecting  the  two  parts  of  my  narrative, 
and  making  the  record  of  my  Diary  complete,  with  the 
single  exception  above  noted. 

The  reader  of  the  present  volume  should  not  forget  that 
the  actual  feeling  and  spirit  which  existed  during  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion  is  to  be  found  in  narratives  of  occurrences 
at  the  time. 

If  I  am  accused  of  needlessly  reviving  unhappy  memo 
ries,  I  reply  that  I  am  constrained  to  follow  my  notes,  and 

224380 


IV  PREFACE. 

could  not,  if  I  would,  after  the  fashion  of  later  writers, 
gently  intimate  that  in  rebelling  against  the  Government 
in  1861  the  South  was  pardonably  in  error  and  a  trifle 
wrong-headed,  for  the  simple  reason  that  during  the  war 
no  such  sentiment  existed. 

But  the  war  ended  long  ago,  and  year  by  year  the  angry 
and  bitter  feelings  it  excited  have  given  place  to  mutual 
respect  and  fellowship,  until  the  soldiers  on  both  sides 
acknowledge  and  rejoice  in  the  valor  displayed  by  North 
and  South  on  many  battle-fields. 

If  these  pages  should  recall  old  animosities,  or  open 
anew  wounds  that  time  has  healed,  I  shall  regret  exceed 
ingly  that  my  simple  desire  to  present  many  interesting 
details  of  the  period  of  the  Great  Eebellion  has  so 
utterly  miscarried. 

"  Under  the  sod  and  the  dew, 
Waiting  the  Judgment-day, 
Love  and  tears  for  the  *  Blue,' 
Tears  and  love  for  the  '  Gray.'  " 

G.  H.  G. 

BOSTON,  February,  1882. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
ON  THE  POTOMAC 


II. 
ON  THE  JAMES  .............  32 

III. 
AT  WEST  POINT,  VIRGINIA     ............      55 

IV. 
ON  THE  PENINSULA  ............  87 

V. 
APPROACHING  RICHMOND    ........  115 

WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC      .......  .    .     .    139 

VI. 

WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC  (continued}     .....    153 
SOUTH  CAROLINA  ...............    .175 

VII. 
SEA  ISLANDS  OFF  CHARLESTON    ...........    179 

VIII. 

SEA  ISLANDS  OFF  CHARLESTON  (continued)    .......    254 


vi  CONTENTS. 

IX.  PACK 

HILTON  HEAD 290 

FLORIDA 293 

THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 307 

X. 

MOBILE  BAY 332 

ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC 351 

NEW  YORK  CITY       355 

XL 

DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA 357 

XII. 

DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA  (continued) 385 


3Ltst  of  fKaps  an*  Illustrations. 


WEST  POINT,  VIRGINIA (facing)    56 

CHARLESTON,  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  AND  THE  SEA  ISLANDS 

ADJACENT j}  210 

THE  DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA      ...'...        „  358 

EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  HAMPTON,  VIRGINIA    . 171 

FORT  SUMTER m  igo 

GUNBOAT  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER      .  309 


A    WAR    DIARY. 


CHAPTEE   I. 

SECOND   YEAR   OF  THE  WAR.  —  ON  THE  POTOMAC. 

THE  battle  of  Antietam  (or  Sharpsburg,  as  we  called  it 
then)  was  over;  and  on  the  21st  of  September,  1862, 
my  division  of  the  Twelfth  Corps  was  at  Sandy  Hook,  in 
Maryland,  awaiting  an  order  to  cross  into  Virginia  in  pur 
suit  of  Lee.  The  perils  and  labors  of  the  previous  week 
were  such  as  I  had  never  before  known,  and  at  first  I 
found  difficulty  in  recalling  the  incidents  in  their  proper 
order.  Gradually,  however,  this  confusion  disappeared,  and 
I  was  able  to  retrace  the  whole  course  of  the  battle.  It  was 
only  seven  days  since  we  had  marched  in  triumph  through 
the  loyal  town  of  Frederick,  in  Maryland,  and  out  upon 
the  road  which,  after  running  northwesterly  through  Boons- 
borough  and  Middletown,  divided  into  two  branches,  one 
leading  to  Williamsport  on  the  north,  and  the  other  to 
Sharpsburg  on  the  south.  Between  Middletown  and  Boons- 
borough,  on  a  spur  of  the  Blue  Eidge  known  as  South 
Mountain,  which  is  crossed  by  three  parallel  roads  run 
ning  east  and  west  at  gaps,  as  they  are  called,  the  Eebel 
army  made  its  first  stand  in  Maryland.  Thither  we 
had  hurried  through  the  night,  without  a  halt,  until  a 
little  before  daybreak  of  the  fifteenth.  We  were  to  sup 
port  Burnside  in  his  effort  to  charge  the  enemy  and 

1 


R   DJA.RY. 

drive  him  from  his  position  towards  the  Potomac.  At 
daylight  I  reached  the  front,  and  found  that  during  the 
night  the  Rebel  army,  abandoning  their  dead  and  wounded, 
had  fallen  back  across  Antietam  Creek,  satisfied  with  the 
heavy  fighting  of  the  day  before  at  the  gaps,  where  we 
had  been  victorious.  Two  or  three  hours  went  by,  and  we 
pushed  on  in  pursuit.  McClellan  rode  past  our  corps,  and 
was  cheered  lustily.  I  shook  hands  with  him,  and  rode 
.a  short  distance  by  his  side.  He  seemed  anxious  to  over 
take  the  enemy,  and  said  he  should  feel  much  obliged  if 
they  would  only  stop  long  enough  to  let  him  whip  them. 
WQ  hurried  on  during  the  day,  encamping,  or  rather  halt 
ing,  at  night  near  where  Antietam  Creek  empties  into  the 
Potomac.  Behind  the  creek  was  Sharpsburg. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  sixteenth,  we  were  aroused 
and  ordered  to  inarch  forward  and  attack  the  enemy,  who 
was  supposed  to  be  in  position  behind  the  creek.  Our  line 
of  battle  was  formed  in  sight  of  Lee's  army ;  but  the  day 
wore  on  and  no  attack  was  made,  although  the  answering 
growls  of  artillery  continued  all  day.  Night  came,  and  we 
lay  down  upon  piles  of  straw  ;  not  to  sleep,  however,  for 
before  my  eyes  were  closed,  I  was  ordered  to  prepare  to 
march  immediately  towards  the  right  of  our  line  and  re 
inforce  General  Hooker.  Our  corps,  formed  in  compact 
masses,  was  soon  in  motion.  We  marched  nearly  all 
night.  Our  route  carried  us  across  Antietam  Creek,  to 
wards  the  extreme  right,  where  Hooker  had  preceded  us 
and  had  taken  a  position.  We  halted  about  two  hours 
before  daybreak.  Around  us  were  stacks  of  straw,  of 
which  we  gladly  availed  ourselves  for  a  few  moments' 
slumber.  We  knew  that  we  were  near  the  enemy,  and 
that  we  should  soon  meet  him,  flushed  with  many  victories 
over  both  McClellan  and  Pope,  in  his  first  efforts  to  main 
tain  himself  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Potomac ;  but  I,  for 


ON   THE   POTOMAC.  3 

one,  was  so  worn  out  with  fatigue,  so  overpowered  with 
sleep,  and  had  become  so  passive  under  the  experiences 
of  the  past  campaigns  of  the  year,  that  I  slept. 

That  mellowing  of  the  darkness,  a  precursor  of  the  com 
ing  day,  was  scarcely  visible  on  the  seventeenth,  when  we 
were  aroused  by  fierce  exchanges  of  musketry.  The  long 
night-march,  the  deep  slumber  so  rudely  broken,  the  be 
ginning  of  the  deadly  battle  in  that  dim  light  of  the  early 
morning,  —  all  combined  to  form  a  picture  which  I  can 
never  forget.  We  rose  to  our  feet,  formed  in  columns,  and 
moved  to  a  point  from  which  it  seemed  probable  we  should 
be  sent  to  the  front  to  aid  Hooker  if  he  required  help. 

General  Mansfield,  who  had  been  assigned  to  the  com- 

' 

mand  of  our  corps  (Banks  had  been  put  on  other  duty 
when  Pope  retired),  was  a  reputable  man  and  an  expe- 
rienced  officer,  who  had  been  wounded  in  previous  wars. 
He  ordered  certain  precautionary  dispositions,  that  aid 
might  be  sent  without  delay  to  any  quarter;  and  then, 
with  the  thoughtfulriess  of  an  old  soldier,  directed  me  to 
allow  my  troops  to  use  a  momentary  interval  of  rest  in 
making  coffee  if  time  sufficed,  and  if  not,  then  the  men 
could  "  kick  over  their  camp-kettles  and  move  forward." 
Instead  of  preserving  the  compact  columns  into  which  the, 
regiments  of  my  brigade  had  been  thrown,  I  scattered 
them  to  lessen  danger  from  the  enemy's  shells  now  howl 
ing  around  us.  The  sun  had  not  yet  risen,  and  the  forms 
of  tree  and  forest  were  yet  indistinct,  when  I  looked  in  the 
direction  where  the  Second  Massachusetts  Eegiment  had 
gathered  around  a  cheerful  fire,  over  which  the  water  in 
camp-kettles  was  beginning  to  bubble.  I  saw  Major 
Dwight  writing  in  his  saddle,  on  a  small  scrap  of  paper.  In 
reply  to  my  question  he  cheerily  said,  "  Oh,  I  am  writing 
to  my  mother."  The  words,  "  Dear  mother,  it  is  a  misty, 
moisty  morning,"  with  which  he  began  this  last  touching 


4  A  WAR  DIARY. 

line  to  the  one  he  loved  best  on  earth,  were  found  upon  his 
person,  a  few  hours  later,  when  he  lay  mortally  wounded. 
The  coffee  was  not  ready  when  the  order,  "  Forward  into 
action !  "  sent  the  men  to  their  feet.  They  advanced  amidst 
shell  and  round  shot,  with  such  intervals  as  should  insure 
a  proper  deployment  without  huddling ;  and  the  terrific 
and  glorious  battle  of  Antietam  Creek  was  begun.  The 
details  of  that  fearful  struggle  belong  to  the  historian ;  I 
cannot  give  them  here.  From  sunrise  to  sunset  we  fought, 
swaying  to  and  fro  with  varying  fortune,  until  our  lines 
moved  forward  in  final  triumph,  and  the  sun,  whose  rising 
we  had  seen  with  so  much  apprehension,  now,  as  it  sank, 
lit  up  our  victorious  flags. 

But  what  a  field  of  carnage  lay  about  us  !  Neither  time 
nor  change  can  dim  the  remembrance  of  these  fields  peo 
pled  with  corpses ;  can  shut  out  the  sight  too  horrible  to 
be  real,  and  yet  too  real  to  forget,  of  that  bloody  pathway, 
or  of  that  whole  brigade  of  Eebel  dead,  with  its  skirmish 
line  in  front,  its  troops  in  rear.  In  the  dim  light  our 
guards  came  upon  it,  at  the  most  advanced  point  that  it 
was  deemed  prudent  to  take  at  night.  "  A  line  of  battle 
here  on  duty  !  "  exclaimed  the  officer  in  command  ;  "  there 
must  be  some  mistake,  for  I  was  told  that  this  would  be 
my  front,  and  here  is  a  whole  brigade  of  men.  Who  are 
they,  Sergeant  ?  Do  you  know  them  ?  Ask  them  from 
what  corps  they  came." 

For  some  moments  both  officers  and  men  were  staggered 
at  this  mystery.  That  confusion  might  arise  along  our 
front,  at  such  a  time,  was  possible  enough ;  but  that  at 
such  a  place  a  whole  brigade  of  guards  could  be  found 
buried  in  sleep,  almost  in  presence  of  the  enemy,  filled 
them  with  amazement. 

The  sergeant  now  vainly  attempted  to  arouse  the  man 
nearest  him,  with  his  foot ;  he  stooped,  shook  the  man,  and 


ON   THE   POTOMAC.  5 

cried  out,  "  Halloo  !  I  say  !  wake  up  ! "  Then  the  truth 
beginning  to  dawn  upon  him,  he  put  his  hand  upon  the 
head,  the  face,  and  found  it  cold ;  he  listened,  but  heard 
no  sound  of  life.  Another  :  no  answer  !  nor  from  another 
still,  nor  yet  from  any  of  those  silent  men  lying  t'here, 
stiff  and  stark,  in  the  pale  moonlight  on  that  battle-field. 
Along  the  plain,  over  the  hill,  the  line  extended ;  until, 
lost  in  obscurity,  nothing  but  dark  masses  appeared. 
Throughout  the  night  the  moon  filled  the  scene  with 
mystic  images  and  unreal  shapes.  If  phantoms  from 
the  spirit  world  could  ever  come  forth  to  bewilder  mortals, 
sure  never  was  there  time  or  place  or  sight  so  seasonable. 
It  was  a  marvel  to  the  living,  and  so  continued  until  the 
moon  faded  before  the  dull  light  of  day,  and  the  awful 
truth  was  revealed.  A  whole  brigade  of  Eebel  dead  lay 
there,  a  ghastly  battle  line,  as  if  they  too  were  keeping 
watch  upon  the  field. 

Poor  Dwight,  the  Major  of  the  Second  Massachusetts 
Infantry,  was  mortally  wounded  about  noon  of  the  seven 
teenth,  before  a  wooded  knoll  which  held  the  Dunkard 
church.  Colonel  Andrews  and  Dwight  were  together, 
scarcely  sheltered  from  a  murderous  fire  by  a  fence  of  com 
mon  posts  and  rails,  when  a  musket  ball  entered  near  the 
latter's  hip,  lodged  in  his  body,  and  he  fell,  crying,  "  They 
have  done  for  me  ! "  When  the  line  fell  back,  Dwight  was 
left  upon  the  field.  There,  alone,  he  finished  that  letter 
begun  at  the  camp-fire  at  daylight,  with,  "  I  am  wounded 
so  as  to  be  helpless.  Good-by,  if  so  it  must  be."  As  soon 
as  possible  he  was  brought  back  to  our  lines  in  a  blanket, 
suffering  intense  pain,  and  yet  so  cheery  and  brave  that  he 
gave  back  my  words  of  sympathy  with,  "  Don't  mind  me  ! 
only  whip  the  enemy."  When  an  attempt  was  made  to 
remove  him  to  the  rude  hospital,  the  brave  sufferer  con 
trolled  himself,  although  every  muscle  was  rigid  with  tor- 


6  A  WAR  DIARY. 

ture.  He  only  said  quietly,  "  This  carrying  is  more  easily 
commanded  than  borne;  it  is  pretty  painful."  He  lin 
gered  about  two  days ;  during  his  last  hours  he  was  coura 
geous  and  tranquil.  To  unflinching  pluck  he  added  an 
ardent  patriotism,  and  a  soul  filled  with  a  noble  loyalty  to 
his  country.  He  believed  that  the  war  would  not  only 
kindle,  but  stimulate  into  activity,  exalted  sentiments  in 
his  countrymen.  Not  for  gold,  not  for  fame,  not  for  po 
litical  reward  did  Wilder  Dwight  sacrifice  a  becoming 
ambition  in  his  cherished  profession  of  the  law,  in  which, 
•  though  young,  he  was  full  of  promise.  "  Few  men  have 
spent  their  lives  better,  have  done  more  good  in  their  time, 
or  died  a  more  fitting  death,"  are  words  written  to  me  at 
the  time  by  one  of  the  most  eminent  members  of  the  bar, 
who  knew  Dwight  well.  I  know  the  loss  to  the  Second 
Massachusetts  was  great ;  but  to  his  home !  —  it  is  irre 
parable.  Our  victory  was  gained  by  the  desolation  of 
many  firesides ;  the  joy  of  the  nation  brought  mourning  to 
the  people. 

But  little  more  than  one  year  ago  we  were  near  this 
place,  before  Harper's  Ferry,  under  the  shadow  of  these 
rocky  heights,  with  nearly  one  thousand  men  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Second  Massachusetts  Regiment  of  Infantry.  To 
day  it  numbers  scarcely  two  hundred ;  and  yet  its  losses, 
grave  as  they  have  been,  do  not  mark  its  greatest  change. 
But  six  of  those  officers  who  marched  away  from  Massa 
chusetts,  in  July  of  1861,  are  here  to-day  to  thank  God 
for  their  preservation  at  Antietam. 

On  the  23d  of  September,  1862,  I  occupied  Maryland 
Heights  with  my  division,  for  the  defence  of  Harper's 
Ferry ;  the  main  line  stretching  above  us  as  far  as  Wil- 
liamsport.  Over  the  river  the  enemy  was  taking  it  more 
leisurely  than  we  thought  proper,  after  his  flight  across 
the  Potomac.  In  the  mean  time,  the  President  had  called 


ON   THE  POTOMAC.  7 

for  more  troops,  and  issued  his  proclamation  of  freedom  to 
the  slaves.  This  measure  was  believed  to  be  essential  to 
a  more  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war.  Had  we  been  apa 
thetic  thus  far  ?  We  may,  it  is  true,  have  thought  more 
of  Constitutional  constructions  than  of  the  construction  of 
enormous  and  well  disciplined  armies,  may  have  had  more 
fear  of  being  called  Abolitionists  than  of  being  whipped ; 
we  may  not  have  appreciated  that  if  the  South,  in  order  to 
form  a  more  perfect  Union  by  rebellion,  was  willing  to  es 
tablish  its  government  on  the  corner-stone  of  slavery,  we, 
to  hold  fast  the  whole  Union,  had  never  been  willing  to 
establish  it  on  the  corner-stone  of  freedom ;  we  had  not, 
perhaps,  rightly  appreciated  that  the  Constitution  was  made 
for  the  country,  not  the  country  for  the  Constitution,  and 
that  it  was  a  thousand  times  better  that  it  should  be  broken 
in  every  line  and  precept  than  that  the  South  should  be 
permitted  to  break  up  the  Union  itself :  we  can  re-estab 
lish  the  Constitution  if  it  should  be  necessary  to  do  so  ;  but 
if  it  is  once  severed,  we  cannot  reunite  the  nation.  We  had 
suffered  under  these  distractions,  the  South  had  not ;  it  had 
not  sought  in  divergent  and  paralyzing  ways  to  carry  out  a 
feeble  purpose, — feeble,  because  held  in  check  by  a  peaceful 
instrument  called  a  constitution.  The  principles  of  the  peo 
ple's  party,  as  I  read  them  in  the  papers  of  that  day,  caused 
no  inspiration  of  vengeance,  such  as  our  armies  needed  to 
insure  success.  In  Maryland,  by  the  side  of  Antietam  Creek, 
we  went  to  battle  to  protect  our  homes.  For  another  ad 
vance  into  Virginia  the  army  needed,  I  thought,  a  new  in 
spiration  from  a  proclamation  for  the  freedom  of  the  slave. 

It  would  be  vain  to  deny  that  at  this  period  there  was 
a  despondent  feeling  in  the  army.  After  all  the  sufferings 
and  reverses  of  nearly  two  years,  the  end  seemed  no  nearer 
now  than  when  our  army,  a  rabble  of  undisciplined  fugi 
tives,  crowded  over  the  long  bridge  into  Washington,  after 


8  A  WAR  DIARY. 

the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run.  With  doubts  of  the  future 
came  doubts  of  the  polity  of  our  government.  "  This  is 
its  first  great  strain,"  said  the  faint-hearted,  "  and  it  can 
not  survive.  On  a  calm  day  and  over  unruffled  seas  the 
ship  will  float  happily  into  port,  but  she  will  founder  in  a 
storm."  Among  many  who  expressed  these  views  was  a 
brother  of  the  famous  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  a  man  whom 
I  found  here  as  chaplain  of  a  New  York  regiment,  and  who 
had  been  a  settled  (or  unsettled  minister  as  he  said)  in 
Elmira,  New  York.  Very  odd,  like  all  the  Beechers,  he 
was  nevertheless  fascinating  in  conversation.  In  politics 
he  was  a  Democrat  of  the  old  school.  He  even  now,  with 
the  proclamation  of  freedom  ringing  in  his  ears,  did  not 
hesitate  to  declare  that  the  negro  girl  in  a  log-house  near  my 
tent  did  not  belong  to  the  same  human  family  with  him 
self.  As  an  atom  in  the  armies  contending  for  the  estab 
lishment  of  equal  rights  arid  equal  brotherhood,  he  avowed 
that  he  was  himself  by  no  means  a  republican,  and  that  he 
thought  the  republic  a  failure.  "  The  Democratic  party," 
he  urged,"  forced  into  our  governmental  polity  in  1832-33 
an  element  that  overcame  in  man  all  reverence  for  law, 
human  or  divine,  all  reverence  for  obedience  as  a  principle 
in  life."  Obedience,  he  thought,  lay  at  the  bottom  of  all 
national  as  well  as  all  spiritual  progress.  "  I  have  made," 
he  continued,  "  my  calculations ;  others  may  make  their 
own.  I  sit  with  my  instrument  pointed  towards  the  heav 
ens  ;  it  is  almost  the  hour  for  the  eclipse.  I  shall  rejoice  if 
I  am  mistaken ;  but  soon  I  look  to  see  a  shadow  stealing 
over  this  splendid  luminary,  never  to  be  removed." 

By  the  side  of  this  desponding  observer  there  were  many 
more  hopeful  watchers  of  the  same  phenomena,  who  denied 
this  forecast  of  coming  events,  and  utterly  refused  to  be 
lieve  these  gloomy  predictions  of  our  future  ruin. 

By   the   sixteenth  we  had  begun  forward   movements 


ON  THE  POTOMAC.  9 

from  Harper's  Ferry  and  Martinsburg  to  Charlestown,  which 
we  entered  with  little  resistance.  The  condition  of  my 
command  at  this  town  would  not  have  filled  the  heart  of  the 
observer  with  thanksgiving  for  temporal  blessings,  or  with 
regrets  that  he  could  not  participate  in  our  luxurious  life. 
If  he  could  have  looked  upon  the  dim  light  that  came  from 
the  little  canvas  kennels  where  ten  thousand  poor  fellows, 
many  of  them  without  blankets,  were  trying  to  keep  warm 
in  these  chilly  October  days,  or  peer  into  an  adjoining  barn 
filled  with  sick  men  dying  from  typhoid  fever,  with  neither 
proper  medicine  nor  food,  it  would  have  been  plain  that 
with  all  its  excitements  this  life  was  a  vexatious  and  a 
perplexing  one,  —  a  hard  life,  and  one  with  all  its  glories 
better  to  think  of  than  to  endure. 

By  the  24th  of  October  there  were  many  signs  of  bad 
weather,  precursors  of  wintry  days  in  which  the  camps 
would  be  wet,  the  soldiers  uncomfortable,  and  every 
thing  cold  and  cheerless.  Our  position  on  the  mountain 
was  a  very  exposed  one ;  but  this  was  necessary  in  order 
that  we  should  overlook  Harper's  Ferry,  the  bridge,  and 
the  ford,  and  cover  our  troops  in  Virginia  in  case  of  need. 
Six  miles  from  the  river  hostile  pickets  confronted  each 
other  on  the  road  to  Charlestown ;  beyond,  at  Winchester, 
the  enemy  was  said  to  be  in  force.  From  our  lofty  en 
campment  I  could  see,  in  a  clear  day,  the  dust  of  his  wagons 
and  the  smoke  of  his  camp-fires.  Our  position  was  strongly 
.guarded.  The  Potomac  cuts  the  Blue  Eidge  in  twain  where 
it  washes  the  ruins  of  Harper's  Ferry.  Ages  have  passed 
since  these  waters  began  to  roll  at  the  foot  of  these  heights  ; 
from  the  river's  brink  to  the  mountain  summits  the  falling 
rock  has  made  a  gentle  slope,  which  is  now  covered  with 
dark  pines.  Besides  the  Maryland  Heights  and  the  Loudon 
Heights  on  the  other  side,  there  is  another  height  in  Vir 
ginia,  lower  than  the  others,  which  forms  part  of  the  system 


10  A   WAR   DIARY. 

of  our  defences.  Where  the  Shenandoah  flows  into  the 
river  at  Harper's  Ferry,  the  land  rises  to  the  crest  of  a 
ridge,  which  forms  the  western  bank  of  the  Potomac. 
This  ridge  between  the  two  rivers,  known  as  Bolivar 
Heights,  is  occupied  by  our  troops.  In  peaceful  days 
these  splendid  rivers  and  these  lofty  hills  were  extolled  by 
travellers  as  the  most  picturesque  in  our  country ;  and 
even  a  scoffing  officer  of  my  staff  was  moved  to  growl  out 
that  the  view  was  "  darned  magnificent."  In  these  grand 
days  of  war  a  new  glory  was  added  to  the  scene.  The 
ruins  of  Harper's  Ferry,  the  charred  wreck  of  the  superb 
railroad  bridge,  the  army  of  wood-choppers  felling  trees 
for  defences  and  clearing  away  for  fortifications  on  Mary 
land  Heights,  with  my  own  tent  in  a  little  shelf  of  the  cliff 
and  my  division  of  sixteen  thousand  men  in  a  picturesque 
group  below,  form  a  picture  of  rare  beauty. 

Up  the  river  as  far  as  Williamsport,  and  down  to  Alex 
andria  we  were  guarding  Maryland  from  invasion,  my 
own  line  extending  eight  miles  above  until  it  met  that  of 
Fitz  John  Porter.  It  was  a  pleasure  in  a  clear  day  to  ride 
along  that  picket  line.  One  mile  above  Harper's  Ferry  a 
dam  turned  the  waters  of  the  Potomac  into  a  canal,  which 
supplied  the  Government  works  at  the  arsenal ;  the  river 
below  is  a  sad  and  unsightly  jumble  of  rocks,  but  above,  it 
is  as  smooth  as  glass,  as  it  placidly  flows  between  green 
banks  fringed  with  pine  trees.  Nothing  more  poetic  than 
picket  duty  here  in  fine  weather  can  be  conceived. 

So  long  a  line  as  this  of  McClellan  on  the  Potomac  was 
necessarily  attenuated  ;  and,  mortifying  as  it  was  to  us,  it 
was  not  strange  that  Stuart  succeeded  in  making  his  raid 
into  Pennsylvania.  We  cannot  blame  any  one  that  this 
raid  was  begun ;  but  blame  is  certainly  due  to  some  one 
that  it  did  not  end  with  Stuart's  capture.  It  seemed  to  us 
to  be  the  most  foolhardy  piece  of  business  we  had  ever 


ON   THE  POTOMAC.  11 

known  ;  had  the  Eebels  made  a  raid  in  balloons  we  could 
not  have  been  more  amazed.  Between  seven  and  eight  in 
the  evening  of  Friday,  Oct.  1,  the  Kebel  cavalry  reached 
Chambersburg,  and  it  was  at  noon  of  the  nineteenth  before 
they  arrived  at  the  Potomac  again  to  recross  into  Virginia, 
having  in  two  days  passed  to  the  rear  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac. 

By  the  27th  of  October  the  movement  into  Virginia  be 
gan.  Burnside  moved  first,  and  we  were  under  orders  to 
follow.  The  newspapers,  echoing  the  cry  of  an  ignorant  and 
inconsiderate  people,  clamored  for  a  winter  campaign.  The 
weather  was  most  unpropitious,  and  although  the  leaves 
had  not  begun  to  fall,  November-like  winds  blew  cold  and 
cheerless,  as  if  foreboding  a  protracted  storm.  But  the 
American  people  demanded  a  movement,  it  was  said  !  Ah, 
if  those  who  demanded  it  were  only  obliged  to  make  it ! 
While  the  campaigns  of  the  last  two  years  were  beginning 
to  tell  upon  the  old  soldiers,  the  cold,  wet,  and  inevitable 
exposure  of  camp,  with  the  depression  of  attendant  home 
sickness,  was  hurrying  raw  recruits  in  fearful  numbers  to 
the  hospital  and  the  grave.  That  dreadful  scourge,  typhoid 
fever,  notwithstanding  all  the  precautions  my  position 
enabled  me  to  provide,  had  begun  to  develop  its  premoni 
tory  symptoms  of  headache  and  strange  pains,  and  the  sur 
geon  prescribed  medicines  and  rest ;  and  this,  too,  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  whole  army  was  under  orders  to 
move  into  Virginia  on  the  twenty-fifth,  at  ten  A.  M. 

On  the  twenty-ninth,  while  our  troops  were  moving 
across  the  river  and  being  massed  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Potomac,  I  marched  at  nine  p.  M.  with  my  brigade  to  hold 
the  Potomac  river  from  Antietam  Creek  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Opequan, —  arriving  at  Antietam  in  the  night,  and  oc 
cupying  on  the  morning  of  the  thirtieth  Antietam  ford, 
where  I  relieved  General  Fitz  John  Porter's  command,  and 


12  A   WAR   DIARY. 

stretched  my  own  up  the  river  as  far  as  I  could.  Having 
established  my  headquarters  at  Sharpsburg,  I  proceeded 
to  study  the  river,  that  I  might  bestow  my  small  com 
mand  of  infantry,  one  regiment  of  cavalry  and  artillery, 
where  they  could  oppose  a  crossing  by  the  enemy.  On  the 
thirty-first  the  day  began  with  a  ride  to  Knoxville  to  relieve 
a  colonel  there,  and  order  him  to  Hagerstown ;  then  to  the 
Shepherdstown  ford,  where  orders  were  given  for  a  change 
in  the  arrangement  of  guards,  and  for  a  vital  amendment 
in  the  performance  of  picket  duty ;  to  Mercersville,  where 
I  conferred  with  a  few  loyal  Virginians  at  an  old  hotel  in 
a  dark  room  upstairs,  and  from  whence  I  sent  a  scout  to 
Bunker  Hill  in  Virginia,  and  made  arrangements  to  cap 
ture  pickets  ;  studied  the  river,  its  fords,  its  banks,  and  its 
courses,  and  the  best  place  for  batteries  for  effective  work  ; 
sent  out  general  orders  containing  governing  rules  for 
maintenance  of  guards,  —  in  the  doing  of  which  I  rode 
thirty  miles,  and  exhausted  the  daylight. 

This  was  but  an  epitome  of  every  day,  varied  only  by 
alarming  rumors  and  startling  despatches.  On  the  14th 
of  November,  General  Slocum  at  Harper's  Ferry  advised 
me  that  all  the  reports  brought  to  him  went  to  prove 
that  Stonewall  Jackson  returned  to  Winchester  last  Mon 
day  with  a  large  force,  and  that  A.  P.  Hill's  command 
returned  to  a  point  between  Winchester  and  Berryville 
on  Tuesday,  —  all  of  which  pointed  to  a  raid  into  Mary 
land  at  some  point  above  my  position,  or  an  attack  on 
his  own  ;  and  if  the  latter  should  occur  he  would  endea 
vor  to  concentrate  on  Maryland  Heights  ;  but  if  the  former, 
then  (in  the  event  of  a  crossing  at  Shepherdstown  or  An- 
tietam  Iron  Works)  he  would  advise  me  to  try  to  reach 
him  through  Solomon's  Gap,  and  if  this  were  not  possible 
to  fall  back  to  Hagerstown.  It  was  very  thoughtful  of 
Slocum  to  write  of  the  rumors  that  were  flying  about,  even 


ON  THE  POTOMAC.  13 

though  he  knew  (as  he  wrote  to  me)  that  I  was  not  under 
his  command,  and  to  suggest  for  my  consideration  a  plan 
for  a  time  of  action  when  there  might  be  no  opportunity 
for  reflection. 

The  fifteenth  brought  with  it  no  relief,  but  more  dis 
quieting  rumors.  Scouts  were  sent  to  Martinsburg ; 
roads  from  fords  to  the  eastward  were  examined,  and  a 
startling  report  came  through  General  Morell  from  Gen 
eral  Kenly  at  Hagerstown  that  Wade  Hampton,  command 
ing  a  Rebel  cavalry  brigade,  was  in  Martinsburg  yesterday ; 
that  his  scouts,  dressed  as  Federal  cavalry,  were  patrolling 
the  road  between  there  and  the  river ;  and  that  Jackson, 
with  an  estimated  force  of  forty  thousand  men,  was  at 
Bunker  Hill,  preparing  to  turn  our  right  on  .the  upper 
Potomac.  On  the  sixteenth,  one  hundred  Rebel  cavalry, 
disguised  in  Federal  uniforms,  entered  Shepherdstown, 
heralding  —  so  rumor  had  it  —  the  presence  of  Jackson  at 
Winchester  and  its  vicinity.  But  on  the  seventeenth  a 
heavy  rain  rendered  the  fording  for  the  time  more  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,  —  a  great  relief  to  my  anxiety  and  to  my 
labors. 

While  the  whole  army  of  the  Potomac,  save  Slocum's  com 
mand  and  mine,  was  advancing  under  Burnside  to  near  the 
farthest  southern  point  reached  by  us  in  Pope's  campaign, 
it  might  have  been  supposed  that  the  country  between  the 
Potomac  and  Manassas  would  have  been  free  from  the  en 
emy;  and  yet  here  was  this  ubiquitous  Jackson  turning 
from  his  southward  march  to  reappear  at  Winchester  with 
his  reputed  army  of  forty  thousand,  extending  his  pickets 
to  the  river,  and  keeping  me  daily  and  sometimes  nightly 
in  the  saddle,  riding  over  twenty-six  miles  of  territory  in 
the  endeavor  to  hold  many  fords  easily  passable  and  often 
used  by  the  Rebels  on  marauding  excursions. 

At  this  time  there  arose  a  great  commotion  about  us, 


14  A   WAR   DIARY. 

and,  as  it  often  happens,  from  a  very  inadequate  cause. 
The  sound  of  cannon  somewhere  on  the  Potomac,  followed 
by  the  usual  report  of  an  attack,  alarmed  all  the  towns 
within  twenty  miles  of  the  river.  At  Chambersburg, 
empty  cars  were  hurried  in  to  remove  Government  stores  ; 
at  Hagerstown  wagons  were  packed,  and  every  measure 
taken  for  flight  from  an  expected  raid.  The  rumor  of  an 
attack  arose  as  follows  :  — 

About  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  No 
vember,  a  citizen,  one  Dunn,  employed  on  the  canal,  handed 
to  the  commander  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  Regi 
ment  of  my  brigade  a  note  from  the  canal  superintendent, 
in  which  was  represented  that  it  would  enhance  the  pub 
lic  interest  if  this  man  could  be  permitted  to  move  his 
family  and  furniture  from  the  Virginia  to  the  Maryland 
side  of  the  Potomac.  Dunn's  expressed  wish  to  cross  at 
the  guard-lock,  about  one  mile  above  dam  No.  4,  with  four 
or  five  men  and  a  scow,  was  granted  upon  the  sole  condi 
tion  that  an  officer  should  attend  at  the  point  of  debarka 
tion  to  prevent  the  transportation  of  contraband  of  war. 
At  the  lock  a  small  guard  of  cavalry  connected  with  the 
infantry  pickets.  The  scow  reached  the  opposite  bank,  and 
the  work  of  loading  was  about  completed  at  half-past  eleven 
A.M.,  when  suddenly  a  squad  of  Rebel  cavalry  appeared ; 
Dunn  made  his  escape,  but  the  remainder  of  the  party  were 
captured.  At  twelve,  noon,  a  small  skiff  pulled  by  a  single 
boatman  crossed  to  the  Maryland  shore.  The  boatman,  who 
turned  out  to  be  the  father-in-law  of  Dunn,  represented 
that  the  raiders  had  fled,  leaving  the  scow  and  furniture  un 
touched,  and  he  asked  for  assistance  to  bring  it  across  the 
river.  It  did  not  appear  that  this  ruse  aroused  in  the  officer 
who  had  witnessed  it  any  suspicion  of  deception.  That 
an  officer  in  command  of  troops,  established  to  prevent  all 
intercourse  across  a  river  dividing  a  hostile  from  a  friendly 


ON   THE   POTOMAC.  15 

territory,  could  or  ought  to  believe  this  capture  to  be  the  re 
sult  of  treachery,  was  a  reflection  upon  the  judgment  of  the 
commander  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana;  which  his  sub 
ordinate  repelled  with  indignation.  A  second  crossing  was 
permitted ;  and  this  time  with  three  men,  who  had  hardly 
landed  when  they  too  were  surrounded  by  the  same  squad 
of  Eebels,  and  all  but  one,  a  brave  and  plucky  fellow 
named  Cookus,  captured.  Cookus  plunged  into  the  river 
and  struck  out  vigorously  for  the  Maryland  shore.  Two- 
thirds  of  the  way  across  he  was  hit  by  a  bullet  and  sank 
dead  to  the  bottom  of  the  river.  This  affray,  like  the  for 
mer,  took  place  in  clear  view  of  the  officer  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  and  of  the  cavalry  pickets,  who  returned  the  fire 
of  the  enemy's  long-range  rifles  with  their  revolvers.  At 
two  P.M.  this  artless  officer,  with  a  firm  belief  that  he  had 
confronted  the  inevitable,  returned  to  his  regiment.  The 
result  of  this  disobedience  of  my  positive  order  interdict 
ing  communication  with  the  enemy  was  the  capture  of 
seven  men  and  the  killing  of  one. 

It  was  now  quite  clear  that  the  Marylander  was  a  traitor, 
and  his  whole  scheme  a  game  into  which  the  too  credulous 
officer  at  dam  No.  4  had  fallen  ;  what  might  follow  was 
doubtful.  Strong  field-works  were  thrown  up  to  cover  the 
fords  in  front  of  the  Second  Massachusetts  and  the  One 
Hundred  and  Seventh  New  York.  Before  the  Thirteenth 
New  Jersey  indications  were  so  alarming,  signal  fires  and 
clouds  of  dust  in  the  air,  that  two  pieces  of  artillery  were 
moved  nearer  the  river  on  their  front.  From  the  keeper  of 
the  little  old  dark-roomed  tavern  of  which  I  have  spoken, 
a  thoroughly  loyal  man,  we  received  positive  information 
that,  despite  these  signs  and  rumors,  there  were  no  Rebels 
this  side  of  the  pickets  at  Bunker  Hill  in  Virginia,  and 
that  squads  of  Rebel  cavalry  seen  within  the  river  towns 
were  hunting  up  conscripts ;  as  also  that  it  was  a  general 


16  A  WAR  DIAEY. 

impression  over  the  other  side  that  Jackson  was  moving 
out  of  the  valley.  The  sources  whence  this  man  derived 
his  information  were  more  trustworthy  than  ours.  On 
both  sides  of  the  Potomac  there  were  men  as  true  as  these 
in  uniform  under  my  command,  whose  information  of 
Rebel  movements  and  purposes  was  the  more  reliable; 
because,  to  hatred  of  the  war  the  loyal  Southerner  added 
a  hatred  of  those  neighbors  who,  contributing  to  its  exist 
ence,  denounced  him  to  the  authorities  and  directed  the 
Rebel  commissary  to  his  grain-bin,  his  smoke-house,  and 
his  barn.  Our  Northern  troops,  whose  homes  and  property 
were  far  removed  from  the  actual  theatre  of  military  opera 
tions,  moved  on  in  marches  and  through  campaigns  with 
out  that  bitterness  or  hatred  for  his  enemy  which  is  born 
of  cruelty  or  oppression,  and  in  which  home,  wife,  child, 
or  all,  may  have  been  involved.  It  was  not  strange  that 
constant  appeals  were  made  to  me  by  loyal  citizens  of 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  for  permission  to  engage  in  a  foray 
against  their  neighbors.  Among  these,  the  most  earnest 
was  the  master  of  the  little  old  tavern  by  the  canal,  who 
took  the  first  opportunity,  when  he  heard  of  Dunn's  treach 
ery  and  Burke's  ruse,  to  confer  with  one  of  my  officers  upon 
a  plan  for  the  capture  of  Burke. 

Among  the  leaders  of  that  class  of  irregulars  known  as 
guerillas,  none  had  ever  been  more  offensive  than  "  Old 
Burke."  In  harrying  Union  men,  whether  he  robbed  them, 
burned. their  dwellings,  or  shot  them  in  cold  blood,  he  had 
no  equal.  The  bitter  hatred  felt  on  our  side  of  the  river 
for  this  leader  was  increased  by  what  had  happened  to 
Dunn  and  his  companions  ;  for  not  only  were  those  killed 
and  captured  in  that  unfortunate  affair  citizens  of  Mary 
land,  but  they  were  Union  men  (all  save  Dunn)  trying  to 
avoid  a  possible  conscription.  It  was  Old  Burke  with  an 
active  lieutenant,  one  Leopold,  who  had  made  this  capture ; 
and  the  plan  was  to  capture  Burke. 


ON  THE  POTOMAC.  17 

The  conference  took  place  at  the  tavern,  where  at  the 
time  Chaplin,  the  keeper,  was  engaged  in  an  interesting 
game  of  pool,  which  he  immediately  sacrificed  and  led  the 
way  to  a  small  back-room,  where  in  subdued  tones  he  offered 
to  cross  the  river,  and  in  command  of  fifty  citizens  to  be 
recruited  on  the  Virginia  side,  and  armed  with  revolvers 
and  rifles,  to  seize  Burke,  Leopold,  their  men  and  horses, 
and  bring  the  captives  and  booty  to  our  side.  So  exas 
perated  it  was  represented  were  the  people,  and  deter 
mined,  that  no  other  assistance  was  desired  from  my  troops 
than  the  withdrawal  of  our  cavalry  pickets  for  a  short  time, 
during  which  the  loyal  Marylanders  would  cross  without 
the  known  sanction  or  approval  of  any  one. 

It  was  not  thought  best  to  allow  citizens,  however  loyal 
they  might  be,  to  engage  in  a  foray  in  which  personal 
vengeance  was  a  strong  incentive ;'  and  therefore  permis 
sion  was  refused,  though  the  purposes  in  view  were  con 
sidered.  Submission  to  this  outrage  was  not  to  be  thought 
of,  and  a  project  for  the  capture  of  these  Eebels  was  planned, 
to  be  carried  into  execution  by  troops  from  the  Second  Mas 
sachusetts.  The  scheme  was  approved,  and  a  swift  and 
thorough  retribution  followed.  I  will  remark,  in  passing, 
that  reports  made  at  the  time  of  the  disaster  reflected  so 
severely  on  the  conduct  of  the  major  and  the  captain  of 
the  Twenty-seventh  Indiana,  who  had  rendered  it  possible, 
that  an  investigation  was  ordered;  in  which  it  appeared 
that  not  Dunn  alone,  but  the  canal  agent  and  his  son 
were  dangerous  men  and  Eebel  sympathizers,  and  it  was 
said  that  Old  Burke  had  been  a  partner  of  the  canal  agent. 
The  disobedience  by  the  Federal  officers  was  followed  by 
arrest  and  court-martial,  and,  as  we  shall  now  proceed  to 
relate,  Burke,  Leopold,  &  Co.  were  surprised  and  put  to 
death. 

The  plan  in  detail  for  crossing  the  river  and  approaching 

2 


18  A  WAR  DIARY. 

the  houses  in  Shepherdstown  frequented  by  Burke  and 
his  gang,  was  the  work  of  my  adjutant-general.  With  an 
accurate  sketch  of  the  ground  before  him,  five  citizens  care 
fully  selected  as  guides  were  questioned  about  the  crossings, 
the  town,  the  streets,  the  fields,  and  the  approaches ;  and 
from  this  information  was  made  an  accurate  map  of  Shep 
herdstown,  and  the  houses  to  be  searched.  The  night  of 
the  24th  of  October  was  selected  for  the  expedition.  The 
boats  on  our  side  being  old  and  leaky,  they  were  soaked  in 
the  canal.  Pickets  were  notified,  and  artillerymen  cautioned 
to  keep  silent  if  an  unusual  noise  were  heard  on  their  front. 
Seventy-five  men  with  officers  from  the  Second  Massachu 
setts  Eegiment  were  detailed,  and  liberal  supplies  of  rope, 
candles,  and  matches  provided.  Thus  far  Captain  Scott, 
my  adjutant-general,  had  formed  his  plans  without  con 
ference  with  Captain  Cogswell,  who  volunteered  to  go 
as  temporary  commander,  —  an  offer  which  was  gladly 
accepted.  Nearly  all  the  men  selected  were  of  the  old 
stock,  and  they  were  to  be  led  by  Eobeson  and  Grafton  as 
lieutenants.  Ten  o'clock  at  night  was  the  hour  designa 
ted  for  starting,  and  Johnson's  lock,  about  a  mile  above 
Sharpsburg,  the  place.  Three  quarters  of  an  hour  was 
allowed  for  reaching  the  house,  or  houses,  where  the  gue 
rillas  were  supposed  to  be,  and  the  remainder  of  the  night 
for  the  return. 

At  a  little  before  ten  the  command  had  reached  the 
place  of  rendezvous.  The  guides  were  all  there.  The 
men  crossed  the  canal  gates  to  the  river  side,  and  silently 
launched  the  old  creaking  boats  with  shrunken  sides  show 
ing  yawning  seams  above  the  water-line.  The  moon  had 
sunk,  but  the  starlight  was  bright.  Everything  was  pro 
pitious.  Reliable  information  that  Jackson  had  left  Win 
chester  to  join  Lee,  removed  all  apprehension  from  that 
quarter.  While  the  men  were  about  entering  the  boats,  a 


ON  THE  POTOMAC.  19 

bright  blaze  like  a  ball  of  fire  shot  up  from  the  opposite 
shore,  —  an  answering  signal,  it  was  said  by  some  of  the 
men,  to  a  light  from  our  side.  The  boats  were  so  small 
that  they  could  carry  but  fifteen  men  at  a  time,  and,  not 
withstanding  the  soaking,  they  leaked  badly.  In  less  than 
an  hour  the  men  were  over.  No  one  had  been  aroused. 
The  houses  were  dark;  no  sound  of  life  was  heard  in  the 
streets.  Field,  forest,  tree,  and  river  were  buried  in  as  deep 
repose  under  the  starlight  as  if  there  had  never  been  an 
alarm  on  the  Potomac. 

Old  Burke  and  his  comrades  had  been  seen  in  Shepherds- 
town  during  the  clay ;  so  much  a  guide  revealed,  who  had 
visited  the  house  of  the  old  man's  brother-in-law.  This  in 
formation  gave  great  satisfaction,  and  increased  the  anxiety 
of  the  men  to  come  up  with  the  game.  On  the  pike  road 
from  Shepherdstown  to  Martinsburg,  a  little  more  than  a 
mile  away,  was  the  house  where  it  was  expected  Burke 
would  be  found.  A  circuitous  route  was  taken  to  reach 
it.  Leaving  five  men  and  a  corporal  with  the  boats,  the 
rest  struck  off  down  the  river  for  half  a  mile,  where  the 
guides  turned  abruptly  to  the  right,  over  fields  and  meadows, 
a  straight  line  to  the  road  from  Hardscrabble  to  Smithfield. 
Here,  as  at  all  gaps,  fences  were  removed  and  a  guard  was 
stationed,  in  case  of  pursuit  by  the  enemy.  One-half  mile 
further  they  advanced  rapidly  over  fields,  hills,  and  val 
leys,  till  the  Martinsburg  pike  was  reached,  and  then  the 
house  where  Burke  and  his  party  were  supposed  to  be  :  it 
was  one  of  two  within  deep  gardens,  and  surrounded  by 
shady  trees.  The  raiders  approached  in  silence.  It  was 
half-past  eleven.  Lieutenant  Eobeson  with  twenty  men 
was  detailed  to  surround  one  of  the  houses.  While  he 
moved  cautiously  to  his  work,  the  rest  gained  noiselessly 
the  lower  part  of  the  garden  of  the  other  house.  Some 
horses  tied  to  a  fence,  perceiving  the  approach  of  men, 


20  A  WAR  DIARY. 

whinnied  vigorously.  This  was  alarming:  the  troops 
halted ;  some  one  whispered  a  low  hush.  Moments  passed ; 
no  lights  were  seen ;  it  was  manifest  that  the  people  had 
not  been  aroused.  The  officers  held  a  whispered  consulta 
tion,  and  moved  noiselessly  onward.  Before  them  was  a 
gate  opening  into  a  lawn,  within  which,  dark  in  the  dim 
starlight,  was  the  house.  Now  a  further  division  took 
place.  With  one  guide  the  adjutant-general  took  post  in 
front  of  the  house,  while  another  guide  and  the  soldiers 
with  the  officers  passed  round  to  the  left  for  an  entrance. 
Concealed  in  the  shadows,  those  in  front  awaited  develop 
ments.  Before  an  entrance  was  effected,  the  inmates  were 
aroused.  There  was  a  noise  within,  and  two  shots  were 
heard  in  quick  succession ;  then  more  bustle,  and  some 
Union  soldiers  appeared  in  front.  More  of  them,  however, 
were  forcing  their  way  within.  There  was  no  light ;  and 
now  the  adjutant's  candles  came  into  the  game.  A  match 
was  struck ;  there  was  a  momentary  flash  followed  by  slow 
ignition,  in  which  the  men  peered  through  the  murky  light 
into  unknown  places  from  which  a  murderous  fire  might  be 
expected.  Each  man  cocked  his  musket  and  held  it  ready. 
The  lighted  candle  showed  a  large  room,  with  not  a  human 
occupant.  A  search  was  made,  which  revealed  five  men 
well  armed,  who  with  much  resistance  and  irritating  lan 
guage  were  disarmed  and  bound.  They  were  important 
captives,  for  guerillas.  Leopold,  Burke's  lieutenant,  and 
one  Hippsley,  who  disputed  the  honor  of  killing  the  swim 
ming  Marylander  Cookus,  with  two  of  Burke's  sons  and 
(as  described  by  the  actors  in  that  event)  a  villain  named 
O'Brien,  made  up  the  whole  gang.  Great  were  the  con 
gratulations  upon  the  success  of  the  raid ;  further  silence 
was  unnecessary. 

Among  many  revelations  of  fact  and  feeling  it  now  came 
out  that  in  the  two  shots  heard  some  one  had  been  wounded  ; 


ON  THE  POTOMAC.  21 

but  whom  or  how  seriously  it  was  not  known  until  just 
before  departure,  when  a  search  on  the  lawn  revealed  the 
dead  body  of  a  man  with  a  bullet  through  his  heart,  — 
a  thin,  bad-faced  man,  stark  and  ghastly  in  the  starlight, 
motionless,  dead,  in  the  dress  of  a  Confederate  officer,  with 
the  insignia  of  a  captain's  rank.  Upon  the  body  a  revol 
ver  was  found,  with  every  barrel  loaded,  and  each  cap  pro 
tected  by  wax,  and  letters  to  his  chief,  General  Stuart, 
the  most  important  of  which  was  one  from  a  Miss  Lee, 
discoursing  upon  my  proclamation  to  Eebels,  wherein  I 
had  ordered  rebellious  tongues  to  keep  silence,  and  to  cease 
the  utterance  of  infernal  treason.  "  What  shall  we  do," 
she  asks,  "  if  he  [General  Gordon]  comes  over  here  [Vir 
ginia],  for  I  am  sure  we  can't  stop  talking,  and  must  show 
our  contempt  for  what  we  feel?"  Besides  these,  documents 
were  found  which  disclosed  the  name  and  rank  of  the 
dead  man.  A  commission,  and  an  autograph  letter  from 
Lee's  chief  cavalry  officer  containing  instructions  to  Cap 
tain  Burke  to  remain  at  Sharpsburg  as  long  as  it  was  safe, 
and  then  to  report  to  him  at  Culpeper,  revealed  that  at 
last  Old  Burke  was  dead.  Yes,  looking  down  upon  his 
body,  his  sons  saw  and  recognized  their  father,  the  chief 
of  Stuart's  scouts.  Burke  lost  his  life  in  an  attempt  to  flee. 
He  ran  towards  the  fields  while  the  raiders  were  surround 
ing  the  house  ;  was  ordered  to  halt,  refused,  and  was  shot 
dead  with  an  Enfield  rifle. 

Meanwhile  Lieutenant  Eobeson  had  surrounded  the  ad 
joining  house,  and  as  yet  was  in  ignorance  that  the  object 
of  the  expedition  had  been  attained.  Afterward  Captain 
Scott  followed  the  road  leading  northward  through  the 
town,  accompanied  by  his  men  leading  the  captured  horses, 
to  search  the  house  of  one  Read,  designated  in  his  plan  ; 
but  not  finding  Cogswell  there,  he  retraced  his  steps,  and 
learned  that  the  commander  of  the  expedition  was  anxious 


22  A  WAR  DIARY. 

to  recross  the  Potomac  with  his  prisoners  and  his  booty. 
Dimly  in  the  night  Scott  pointed  out  the  houses  of  Win- 
termyer,  Wice,  Read,  Keutsch,  Mixon,  McKinstry,  and 
Muller,  and  urged  that  as  a  search  of  these  houses  was 
also  contemplated,  it  should  be  made  then ;  but  the  com 
mander  thought  otherwise,  and  was  content  to  let  well 
enough  alone.  Much  had  been  already  gained,  —  nay,  more 
even  than  was  hoped  for  by  the  most  sanguine.  Burke,  the 
bold  leader  of  many  a  guerilla  raid,  the  daring  scout,  the 
persecutor  of  Union  men,  the  terror  of  the  neighborhood,  — 
Burke,  whose  loss  to  the  Southern  cause  was  almost  irre 
parable,  was  lying  where  he  fell,  the  ground  red  with  his 
heart's  blood.  Further  operations  might  well  be  postponed 
wisely  reasoned  Cogswell,  as  he  gave  the  order  for  a  re 
turn  march  to  the  river,  with  his  bound  captives  (a  sullen 
band),  the  horses,  and  the  arms.  The  command  marched 
rapidly,  being  in  fine  spirits  over  their  success,  and  de 
livered  the  prisoners  to  the  provost  marshal  in  Sharpsburg 
at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

After  a  refreshing  sleep,  my  irrepressible  adjutant- 
general  awoke  to  sigh  over  a  conjectural  loss  of  property 
supposed  to  have  been  within  easy  grasp  on  the  preceding 
night  at  Shepherdstown,  including,  —  and  his  mind  dwelt 
much  on  this,  —  a  superb  horse,  Burke's  own  charger, 
given  him  by  his  chief,  Stuart  (it  was  estimated  to  be 
worth  the  large  sum  of  eight  hundred  dollars) ;  and  also 
such  minor  articles  as  thirteen  revolvers,  as  many  carbines, 
and  untold  guns,  —  all  concealed  in  different  houses  within 
the  town.  From  conception  to  execution  was  an  easy 
step  ;  and  so  quickly  taken,  that,  at  two  in  the  afternoon, 
thirty  cavalrymen,  with  the  adjutant  at  their  head,  had 
crossed  the  river  at  Blackburn's  ford,  thrown  pickets  out 
on  all  the  roads,  surrounded  all  the  suspected  houses,  and 
hailed  Captain  Cogswell,  who  had  made  his  appearance 


ON  THE  POTOMAC.  23 

on  the  scene  with  seventy-five  infantry  from  the  Second. 
While  Burke's  house  and  those  adjoining  were  undergoing 
a  thorough  search,  the  hearts  of  these  youthful  and  aspiring 
chieftains  expanded  with  rapacity.  Operations  thus  far 
had  been  limited  to  the  poorer  and  meaner  houses  in  the 
suburbs ;  while  within  the  village  were  the  wealth,  the 
business,  the  aristocracy  of  Shepherdstown.  Such  an 
opportunity  must  not  be  lost ;  it  was  too  good,  and  might 
never  return.  The  cavalry  were  formed,  sabres  drawn,  "  for 
ward  "  ordered,  and  down  the  pike  they  went,  scabbards 
rattling,  horses  dashing,  and  the  deuce  to  pay  generally. 
Shepherdstown  was  their  own ;  there  was  no  resistance  ; 
rather  was  there  welcome.  One  comely  young  woman,  — 
beautiful,  too,  the  historian  of  that  glorious  hour  records, 
—  waved  the  star-spangled  banner  over  the  invaders'  heads 
as  they  sped  ostentatiously  on.  Although  the  wicked  did 
not  flee,  men  and  boys  in  the  way  of  this  unopposed  drag- 
onnade  did,  and  a  single  horseman  disappeared  over  the 
crest  of  a  distant  hill  on  the  Smithfield  road.  And  there 
were  captures,  too.  Old  Reutsch  was  seized,  while  gazing 
with  wonder  and  with  admiration,  it  \vas  hoped,  upon  the 
scene,  not  because  he  had  committed  any  overt  act  of  hos 
tility,  but  rather  because  he  was  the  owner  of  a  suspected 
house  near  Burke's.  A  hospital  of  Eebels,  wounded  on 
Antietam  battle-field  was  captured ;  and  six  nurses,  one 
hospital  steward,  two  lieutenants,  and  fourteen  sick  men 
were  paroled.  The  infantry  led,  and  the  cavalry  brought 
up  the  rear  as  the  expedition  returned. 

Such  exploits,  although  they  strongly  tended  to  bind  the 
officers  of  the  Second  Eegiment  of  Massachusetts  infantry  to 
its  fortunes,  in  the  hope  that  they  might  survive  to  share 
its  glories,  made  still  more  conspicuous  the  allurements  of 
the  cavalry  service,  in  which  like  centaurs  the  troopers 
swiftly  descended  upon  their  enemy  with  a  clatter  and 


24  A  WAR  DIARY. 

momentum  which  challenged  the  admiration  of  the  be 
holder.  Oh,  the  stateliness  of  the  cavalry  !  Ah,  the  ease, 
the  freedom  of  a  trooper  !  and  the  drudgery  of  the  infantry ; 
its  inglorious  fagging !  Whether  it  was  the  work  of  that 
cavalry  raid  or  not  that  infected  him  we  shall  never  know  ; 
but  Captain  Henry  S.  Eussell  of  the  Second  at  this  time 
accepted  a  majority  in  a  new  regiment  of  Massachusetts 
horse. 

Jackson's  movements  having  allayed  all  apprehensions 
on  the  Potomac,  camp-life  subsided  into  a  dull  routine, 
varied  only  by  amusements,  of  which  the  officers  (espe 
cially  of  the  Second)  partook  with  a  reasonable  enthusiasm. 
There  was  a  horse-race  in  which  sorry  nags  were  entered 
for  a  prize,  affording  hearty  sport  full  of  entertaining  inci 
dents,  and  a  rollicking  day  memorable  in  that  campaign. 

The  entries  were  made  by  0 and  E ,  of  horses  not 

only  unknown  to  the  turf,  but  until  that  hour  probably 
never  before  entered  for  a  race.  Near  the  camp  of  the 
Second  the  course  was  marked  off,  and  thither  hied  many 
officers  who  in  some  way  or  other  had  all  procured  mounts. 
As  a  privileged  functionary,  the  adjutant-general  had  ap 
propriated  for  the  occasion  my  horse  "  Ashby,"  —  a  Rebel 
capture  and  famous  racer,  whose  speed  the  commissary- 
general  challenged,  having  a  good  opinion  of  his  own  nag, 
and  being  somewhat  excited  by  the  novelty  of  the  occasion. 
At  the  word  they  were  off,  Ashby  leading,  the  commissary 
and  my  aid  following,  with  the  satisfaction  of  being  del 
uged  with  mud,  until  the  adjutant  pulled  up  at  least  half 
a  mile  ahead  of  the  field. 

Arrived  at  the  ground  there  was  a  delay,  which  gave  an 
opportunity  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  camp  of  the  Thirteenth 
New  Jersey,  of  my  brigade.  There  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
men  of  that  regiment  were  found  engaged  in  attempting 
with  muskets  to  convert  two  steers  into  rations.  At  ten 


ON   THE  POTOMAC.  25 

paces  the  men  fired  into  the  animals'  heads  ;  but  the  effect 
was  discouraging.  Both  received  the  bullets,  somewhere  in 
their  capacious  skulls,  with  that  sublime  indifference  which 
has  elevated  stoicism  into  a  philosophy.  But  the  marks 
manship  !  —  that  could  not  fail  of  ridicule.  Was  this  to 
be  taken  as  the  average  shooting  of  this  regiment  ?  Were 
the  Eebels  as  safe  at  ten  paces  ?  Had  the  New  Jersey 
marksmen  with  muskets  absolutely  missed  an  ox  at  ten 
paces  ?  Such  chaffing  was  exasperating.  A  new  warrior 
entered  the  field ;  he  came  to  vindicate  the  good  name  of 
his  regiment.  The  head  of  one  of  the  unhappy  beeves 
was  filled  with  strange  suspicions,  and  he  turned  rapidly 
from  man  and  musket,  until  he  achieved  his  purpose  and 
placed  himself  in  a  perfect  range  between  the  slayer  and 
the  officers  of  the  Second.  It  was,  however,  apparent  that 
this  was  of  no  consequence  to  the  sportsman ;  for  he  raised 
his  musket,  with  an  utter  indifference  to  the  dodging  to 
which  he  subjected  for  some  minutes  the  very  respectable 
body  of  commissioned  officers  thus  threatened  with  immo 
lation.  At  length  he  sighted  the  animal's  head ;  fired, 
and  down  went  the  bullock  as  if  his  legs  had  been  knocked 
from  under,  —  dead  at  last,  with  two  bullets  in  his  head. 
The  regimental  butcher  now  approached  to  cut  the  ani 
mal's  throat,  when,  mirctbile  dictu  !  this  most  ill-used  beast 
rose  to  his  feet,  and  with  his  companion  dashed  toward  the 
surrounding  beholders,  among  whom,  brave  and  modest, 
with  a  soldierly  pride  in  holding  a  lieutenant's  commission 

in  the   Second,  was  one  B ,    of   corpulent  form,  who 

had  been  affectionately  and  fitly  dubbed  with  an  unctu-- 
ous  title. 

That  an  incident  which  would  scarcely  create  a  smile  if 
a  lean  man  were  the  hero,  becomes  ludicrous  to  the  last 
degree  when  a  fat  man  is  the  subject,  is  proved  by  the 
melancholy  which  attaches  to  the  perplexities  of  Don 


26  A  WAR  DIARY. 

Quixote  and  the  mirthfulness  which,  attended  his  squire 
Sancho  Panza.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  attempt  to  detract 
from  the  solemn  interest  which  clings  to  lean  heroes,  or  to 
the  fictions  of  spare  novelists.  I  admit  that  there  are  uses 
for  thin  people  in  this  world,  that  they  are  facts,  possibly 
necessities ;  but  I  challenge  criticism  when  I  aver  that 
a  short  fat  man  running  for  life  from  a  dead  ox  can  give 
more  exquisite  enjoyment  than  a  tall  thin  man  in  motion 
under  the  same  circumstances.  Even  as  Falstaff  ran  and 
roared  when  he  was  pursued  by  the  followers  of  the  Prince 
at  Gadshill,  so  did  our  hulky  B — — ,  when  he  saw  the 
animal  coming,  make  his  short  legs  fly  like  paddles  of  an 
over-driven  steamer,  shouting  the  while  as  loud  as  he  could 
roar,  "  Stop  that  dead  ox  !  stop  him  !  stop  him  !  "  The 
group  of  horsemen  also  scattered  in  confusion  ;  my  old  Kebel 
Ashby,  sympathizing  with  the  general  hilarity,  turned  and 
ran  with  all  his  might  (a  large  quantity),  bearing  my  ad 
jutant-general  half  a  mile  away  to  a  farm  house,  where  with 
much  exertion  he  was  pulled  up. 

At  length  the  course  was  prepared,  and  everything  ready 
for  the  race,  even  to  walking  the  horses  over  the  track, — a 

stretch  of  turf  near  the  pike.     Although  0 's  horse  had 

rather  the  best  finish  of  the  two,  the  betting  was  even  ;  for 

there  was  a  sanguine  feeling  that  K 's  superior  skill 

as  a  jockey  would  overmatch  the  odds.      Of  the  animals, 

it  was  known  that  0 bought  his  of  the  surgeon,  and 

beyond  this  he  had  no  known  history;  but  E 's  animal 

had  a  pedigree.  She  was  an  old  horse,  bought  of  Surgeon 
Leland,  who  bought  her  of  Daggett,  hospital  steward,  who 
picked  her  up.  In  appearance  she  was  lean  and  lanky, 

while  0 's  animal  was  sleek  and  comely.     0 was 

dressed  in  a  fancy  knit-jacket,  striped  with  varied  hues, 

and  a  woollen  cap ;  while  E ,  disdaining  colors,  relied 

on  a  mule  whip  of  huge  length  and  tension.     At  last  the 


ON  THE  POTOMAC.  27 

animals  were  brought  up  for  a  start,  when  E so  prac 
tised  upon  0 with  false  pretences  that  at  length,  in 

sheer  desperation,  the  latter  ran  the  race  alone,  and  claimed 

the  prize ;  but  finally  yielded  to  R 's  objection  that  he 

did  not  get  the  word  "Go."  Persuaded  to  try  it  again, 
0—  -  fairly  won,  despite  the  continued  prodding  and 

lashing   inflicted   by  Pi upon   the   horse  which  was 

Doctor  Leland's,  who  got  her  from  Daggett,  who  picked 
her  up. 

And  then  came  social  dinners,  of  which  none  could  com 
pare  with  those  given  by  the  surgeon  of  the  brigade,  in  his 
excellent  dining-hall  (a  large  hospital  tent),  and  with  his 
selection  of  wines,  —  not  supplied  we  would  remark,  by 
the  Christian  or  Sanitary  Commission.  A  very  lively  and 
entertaining  record  remains  of  one  of  these  surgical  enter 
tainments  given  on  Sunday,  at  which  our  officers  arrived 
while  the  surgeon  in  charge,  and  all  his  attendants,  were 
present  at  divine  service  in  two  hospital  tents.  The  ser 
mon,  an  excellent  one, —  and  very  suggestive  too  of  the  com 
ing  dinner,  in  its  topic  of  "heavenly  joys," — so  excited  the 
guests  that  they  joined  heartily  in  the  singing,  inspected 
the  hospitals  after  service  had  closed,  and  raved  over  one 
of  the  lady  volunteer  nurses,  —  so  sweet,  attractive,  and 
wonderfully  good-looking,  that  she  had  become  obnoxious 

to  Miss  D ,  the  lady  superior,  who  was  imbued  with 

a  belief  that  only  lanky  and  scrawny  women  made  good 
nurses.  Impatiently  expected  and  long  awaited,  the  din 
ner-hour  arrived,  before  the  host  had  fairly  entered  upon  a 
Russian  campaign,  after  despatching  several  in  Italy,  India, 
and  China,  —  bringing  in  due  course  before  admiring  eyes 
and  palates  soups  which  tormented  the  appetite,  bouilles 
wonderfully  seasoned  and  garnished,  an  immense  Bologna 
sausage  reclining  upon  a  dewy  head  of  cabbage  and  hashed 
turnip,  roasts  of  mutton,  chickens  undecapitated,  quails, 


28  A  WAR  DIARY. 

apples  stuffed,  peaches,  and  puddings,  over  which  last,  from 
utter  dissolution  of  appetite,  only  sympathetic  sighs  could 
be  breathed  by  those  who  had  become  mourners  long  before. 
With  coffee,  the  entertainment  closed.  Of  the  sherry 
which  introduced  it,  of  the  wine  which  was  interspersed 
through  it,  and  of  the  real  Havanas  which  followed  it,  — 
of  these,  and  of  the  impressions  a  sense  of  the  fulness  of 
the  feast  created,  no  utterance  of  appreciation  was  possible. 
It  only  remained  to  endeavor  to  repay  the  attentions.  The 
doctor  was  invited  to  attend  a  shooting  match ;  a  ratting 
main,  in  which  a  staff  terrier  was  pledged  to  kill  twelve  rats 
in  as  many  minutes ;  a  cock  fight,  in  which  a  bird  from  Dam 
No.  4  would  stand  against  the  field ;  Thanksgiving  races, 
and  a  Thanksgiving  dinner  after  the  Puritan  style. 

Of  a  different  kind,  but  as  entertaining  as  any  of  the 
amusements  described,  was  the  administration  of  affairs 
by  the  senior  colonel  of  my  brigade  (a  Western  officer  of 
acknowledged  valor,  but  utterly  ignoring  discipline  in  his 
command),  during  my  temporary  absence.  Upon  those 
broad  planes  of  Western  equality  there  is  no  distinction 
between  those  who  have  worked  up  and  those  who  are 
working  to  get  up.  Western  society  frowns  upon  all  who 
put  on  airs.  Even  where  the  inclination  existed,  it  was 
found  to  be  difficult  to  put  in  practice  the  rules  governing 
the  intercourse  of  a  commissioned  officer  with  his  men,  as 
laid  down  and  practised  in  all  armies  composed  of  regulars. 
Merely  the  title  of  colonel,  major,  or  captain,  could  no  more 
translate  its  possessor  into  the  sphere  of  a  commander  than 
it  could  obliterate  the  boon  companionship  of  other  days 
to  those  who  had  been  fellow-workmen  at  the  same  bench, 
on  the  same  board,  or  in  the  same  field.  The  officers  of 
my  staff  were  therefore  somewhat  astonished  at  the  fa 
miliar  manner  in  which  "  Old  S ,"  as  they  irreverently 

spoke   of  him,  treated   his   command.      From   a   private 


ON   THE  POTOMAC.  29 

soldier,  the  adjutant's  clerk,  he  borrowed  slippers;  from 
another,  hectic  novels,  which  he  not  only  devoured,  but 
also  read  aloud  to  the  staff.  Of  reputable  persons,  men  or 
women,  he  averred  that  they  were  "  clean-footed ; "  of  his 
appetite,  that  he  had  eaten  his  "  whole  length"  of  sausages 
at  a  meal ;  to  a  young  woman  applying  for  a  pass  an  ap 
proval  was  sent  by  his  orderly,  conditioned  upon  her  per 
sonal  appeal.  In  his  military  administration,  he  resolved 
to  command  respect  by  refusing  resolutely  to  approve  all 
applications,  no  matter  how  important.  In  this  mood  he 
disapproved  of  two  applications  for  leaves  of  absence,  based 
upon  a  surgeon's  certificate  that  "  a  change  of  climate  was 
necessary  to'  prevent  permanent  disability,"  because  the 
certificate  did  not  add :  "If  the  officers  remain,  they  will 
be  permanently  disabled,"  —  all  of  which  was  so  nice  that 
the  point  escaped  the  critic,  upon  a  second  application  by 
the  same  parties  upon  the  same  certificate.  On  another 
occasion,  an  application  made  by  a  private  of  the  107th 
New  York  for  a  furlough  to  receive  a  legacy  of  three 
thousand  pounds,  coming  to  him  from  an  estate  in  England, 
was  disapproved  with  the  endorsement,  "  These  things  are 
getting  to  be  altogether  too  common." 

It  was  soon  time,  however,  to  cease  keeping  guard  on 
the  Potomac,  and  to  leave  the  fields  upon  which  so  recently 
nearly  two  hundred  thousand  men  had  met  in  the  bloody 
battle  of  Antietam.  Again  the  husbandman  may  work  his 
farm  with  none  to  molest,  unless  perchance  he  strike  too 
rudely  some  unexploded  shell,  or  find  himself  embarrassed 
by  the  shallow  graves  of  the  countless  dead.  The  Grand 
Army  is  in  motion.  Burnside  is  following  Lee  in  his  efforts 
to  put  behind  him  the  rivers  he  so  eagerly  crossed  in  his 
attempts  to  destroy  Pope's  army  and  capture  Washington  ; 
Slocurn  is  preparing  from  Harper's  Ferry  to  beat  up  his 


30  A  WAR  DIARY. 

front  beyond  the  Bolivar  Heights  towards  Winchester; 
Williams,  the  commander  of  our  division,  has  settled  down 
to  solid  comfort  among  the  pines  at  the  foot  of  Maryland 
Heights,  near  the  John  Brown  schoolhouse,  as  he  used  to 
call  it,  when  it  was  found  that  this  was  the  place  where 
that  Brown  had  hid  his  rifles  for  his  raid  on  Harper's  Ferry. 
A  picturesque  spot  it  was,  and  near  it  Williams  had  built 
three  log  houses,  • —  one  for  an  office,  one  for  a  mess-room, 
and  one  for  himself  and  his  daughters  who  were  visiting 
him. 

From  this  abode  of  comfort  the  commander  of  our  di 
vision  was  emerging  daily  to  inspect  his  brigades,  when 
there  came  on  the  ninth  of  December  an  order,  rudely 
summoning  him  from  his  corner,  to  march  with  his  divi 
sion  ma  Harper's  Ferry  through  Hillsborough  to  join  the 
reserve  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

On  the  14th  of  February,  1863,  eight  miles  from  Acquia 
Creek,  I  found  ample  time  to  ponder  over  the  disaster  of 
Fredericksburg  under  Burnside,  and  the  hope  of  Chancel- 
lorsville  under  Hooker.  A  more  atrocious  season  never 
visited  an  army  in  camp.  Snow  followed  rain  with  dreary 
alternation.  Both  men  and  animals  suffered  fearfully,  the 
latter  especially,  inasmuch  as  they  were  not  protected  by 
blankets.  From  my  hut  I  could  see  poor  half-frozen  mules, 
crouching  and  shivering,  their  backs  covered  with  snow, 
tethered  to  wagon-wheels,  —  their  only  shelter  by  night  or 
by  day,  in  storm  or  shine.  While  every  effort  was  made  to 
secure  multiplied  details  of  the  condition  of  the  troops,  that 
of  our  animals  was  overlooked  ;  often  when  the  half-starved 
mule  had  whinnied  out  his  thanks  for  a  cover,  a  hasty  or 
der  sent  the  army  through  muddy  and  almost  impassable 
roads  to  a  new  site  of  bleakness. 

Meanwhile,  General  Hooker  was  boasting  of  what  he 
meant  to  do  in  the  spring. 


ON  THE  POTOMAC.  31 

On  the  28th  of  February,  I  left  Stafford  Court  House  in 
Virginia,  after  a  vain  struggle  with  trials,  duties,  and  expo 
sures,  for  proper  food  and  medical  treatment,  that  I  might 
perchance  recover  from  a  severe  attack  of  typhoid  fever  with 
which  I  had  been  wrestling,  —  the  first  sickness  in  two  years 
of  campaigning.  When  I  returned  to  my  brigade  in  time 
for  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  I  found  that  the  command 
of  it,  in  the  belief  that  my  return  would  be  delayed,  had 
been  assigned  to  another  commander;  and  that  my  choice 
lay  between  a  new  brigade  which  Hooker  offered,  or  a  di 
vision  in  the  Department  of  Virginia  under  General  Dix. 
The  latter,  after  much  reflection,  I  accepted. 


32  A  WAK  DIARY. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

ON  THE  JAMES. 

TN  the  double  darkness  of  night  and  a  thick  sea-fog,  I 
"••  embarked  at  Baltimore,  on  the  28th  of  April,  on  a 
steamer  bound  for  Fortress  Monroe  and  Norfolk.  I  was 
to  lead  a  division  of  Federal  troops  against  Longstreet's 
forces  then  operating  within  the  Department  of  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina.  This  department  was  under  the  com 
mand  of  Major-General  John  A.  Dix.  In  vain  I  looked 
into  the  strange  faces  of  my  fellow-passengers  for  a  friendly 
recognition ;  there  was  no  one  I  knew  on  board,  although 
naturally  we  all  soon  became  acquainted,  and  were  busily 
discussing  the  varying  fortunes  of  the  war.  The  clerk  of 
the  boat  had  a  great  many  curious  things  to  say.  I  found 
him  describing  his  experiences  to  two  of  the  passengers. 
He  was  descanting  on  the  constant  use  demanded  of  this 
line  of  steamers;  the  absolute  impossibility  of  a  rest  for 
cleaning  or  -repairs ;  the  variety  of  freight  with  which  they 
were  laden,  —  from  the  living  who  sought  the  dead  on  the 
battle-field,  to  the  dead  returned  to  the  living ;  Govern 
ment  rations  and  Government  troops ;  green-hides  and 
dead  bodies. 

"  You  will  find,  I  fear, "  said  the  clerk,  "  that  the  present 
condition  of  this  boat  justifies  what  I  have  said ;  while  at 
the  same  time  the  requirements  of  the  Government  folly 
exculpate  the  owners.  Our  work  never  ceases ;  we  have 
no  rest  on  Sunday ;  we  cannot  air  the  mattresses,  nor  can 
we  clean  the  boat  or  the  boilers.  In  McClellan's  peninsu 
lar  campaign  we  were  used  for  hospital  service ;  our  cabins 


ON   THE  JAMES.  33 

were  filled  with  the  sick,  the  dying,  and  the  wounded.  As 
it  chooses,  so  does  the  War  Department  dispose  of  us ;  as 
it  wills,  it  fixes  our  compensation  ;  and  only  the  poor  privi 
lege  remains  to  us  of  carrying  freight  on  private  account, 
—  if  there  is  any  room  left, —  and  of  taking  passage  money 
from  citizens  and  soldiers  when  they  are  not  travelling 
under  orders." 

In  this  search  for  the  dead,  who  were  torn  from  pits  and 
trenches  where  their  comrades  had  hastily  thrown  them, 
there  was  much  food  for  reflection ;  and  those  who  had  seen 
the  long  narrow  boxes  containing  the  remains  of  those 
who  were  to  be  restored  to  loving  friends,  as  it  was  firmly 
believed,  for  a  re-burial  in  the  quiet  home,  had  felt  a  doubt 
whether  identification  was  often  possible.  And  the  clerk, 
whose  heart  had  become  hardened  to  almost  every  scene  of 
suffering,  lowered  his  voice  to  something  like  solemnity,  as 
he  expressed  his  doubts  whether  the  bodies  recovered  were 
really  those  whose  loss  was  mourned  by  friends.  "  Indeed, 
who  can  tell  ?  "  said  one  of  the  passengers.  "  At  Fair  Oaks 
and  at  Malvern,  I  myself  saw  the  killed  buried  in  heaps, 
mutilated,  unrecognizable.  Besides,"  he  added,  "a  body 
exposed  to  the  air  for  a  day  or  two  becomes  unrecogniza 
ble  ;  and  even  if  it  were  otherwise,  and  identity  secured  by 
stakes  driven  at  the  heads,  there  is  wide  room  for  serious 
errors  in  the  inevitable  hurry  and  confusion." 

That  these  unhappy  suspicions  were  too  well  founded  is 
well  known  to  those  who  have  wandered  over  battle-fields  ; 
and  yet,  in  spite  of  this  uncertainty,  the  task  of  recovering 
individual  bodies  was  undertaken  by  a  class  of  men  whose 
profits  depended  on  the  strength  of  their  assurances  of  the 
certainty  of  identification.  On  the  battle-field  of  Antietam  I 
had  conferred  with  one  of  these  wretches,  —  a  thin,  sharp- 
featured,  unsanctified  Yankee,  who,  introducing  himself  as 
interested  in  the  families  of  dead  soldiers,  desired  to  be 

8 


34  A  WAR  DIARY. 

informed  whether  a  dead  soldier  was  entitled  to  a  coffin,  as 
part  of  his  contract  with  the  Government  for  his  services. 
"  He  is  not,"  I  replied,  "  entitled  to  a  coffin  as  a  matter  of 
contract,  although  the  Government  generally  supplies  a 
coffin  for  the  re- burial  of  a  deceased  soldier ;  but  there  may 
be  times,  as  on  the  battle-field,  when  it  would  be  impossible 
to  give  a  soldier  any  other  covering  than  his  blanket." 

"  But,"  said  the  Yankee,  "  when  they  can  give  a  soldier  a 
coffin,  they  do  it  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  I  replied. 

"  Well,  you  can  do  it  here,  can't  you  ? " 

"Oh,  yes;  I  can!" 

"  Well,  that 's  what  I  want  to  know.  I  Ve  come  down 
here  to  get  some  bodies  of  soldiers  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Antietam,  and  I  want  to  know  if  you  will  order  ten  coffins 
to  be  made  for  me  to  take  them  home  in  ? " 

"  Are  you  employed  to  recover  these  bodies  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Yes ;  I  get  something.  I  could  n't  afford,  you  know,  to 
do  this  for  nothing." 

"  Then  it  is  your  occupation  ? " 

"  Well,  yes." 

"  And  you  want  the  Government  to  furnish  you  with 
ten  coffins  to  help  you  carry  on  your  calling  ? " 

"Yes, —  to  carry  home  the  soldiers." 

"Well,  sir,  after  the  Government  has  once  buried  the 
bodies  of  soldiers,  it  does  not  dig  them  up  to  furnish  coffins 
to  a  contractor  to  carry  them  home." 

The  Yankee  could  n't  understand  this,  and  expatiated  on 
the  duty  of  the  Government  and  the  care  with  which  he 
packed  bodies  ;  enlarging  upon  the  certainty  of  his  explora 
tions,  since  a  stake,  with  the  name  inscribed  on  it,  was  al 
ways  opposite  the  head.  He  was  convinced  that  though  the 
war  might  not  have  been  caused  for  his  personal  emolument, 
his  services  were  yet  of  signal  importance  in  its  prosecution. 


ON   THE  JAMES.  35 

At  early  dawn  the  ramparts  of  the  extensive  fortification 
of  Fortress  Monroe  loomed  up  as  we  slowly  approached  the 
landing.  In  a  few  moments  I  had  received  a  hearty  greet 
ing  from  General  Dix ;  and  in  a  few  more  had  been  in 
formed  of  the  situation.  Suffolk,  Virginia,  was  still  strongly 
threatened  by  the  enemy  under  Long-street,  who  was  estab 
lishing  batteries  of  siege-pieces  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Nan- 
semond ;  whence  our  gunboats  had  just  been  withdrawn 
by  the  admiral,  as  being  unable  to  cope  with  the  heavier 
metal  of  the  enemy.  New  embrasures  for  more  guns 
had  been  discovered  in  the  Confederate  works,  and  our 
men  had  heard  the  enemy  cheering  his  reinforcements. 
General  Dix  estimated  Long-street's  force,  present  and  to 
arrive,  at  sixty  thousand  men ;  but  he  did  not  believe  that 
this  demonstration  was  to  resist  a  probable  march  of  the 
Federal  army  towards  Richmond  from  Suffolk ;  nor  that 
General  Hooker,  who  was  then  preparing  for  his  fate  at 
Chancellorsville,  would  be  seriously  opposed  until  he  drew 
near  Eichrnond.  There,  General  Dix  thought,  the  great 
battle  would  be  fought :  there  the  whole  available  Confed 
erate  force  would  be  gathered ;  for  even  at  that  time  N*orth 
Carolina  had  been  evacuated  by  the  enemy. 

I  found  that  I  was  to  report  to  General  Peck,  at  Suffolk, 
and  take  part  in  the  supposed  pending  assault  on  that 
place.  While  delayed  by  the  non-arrival  of  my  horses  and 
luggage,  which  were  to  meet  me  at  Fortress  Monroe,  I 
passed  an  agreeable  hour  with  a  distinguished  party  from 
Washington,  who  had  arrived  in  the  steamer  "  Carrie  Mar 
tin,"  after  a  flying  visit  to  Acquia  Creek,  where  Hooker  and 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  been  visited.  Under  the 
guidance  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Swedish  and  Russian 
ambassadors,  with  many  ladies,  had  looked  upon  that  su 
perb  old  Army  of  the  Potomac  as  it  was  preparing  with  its 
new  and  untried  leaders  to  crush  the  life  out  of  the  Army 


36  A   WAR   DIARY. 

of  Northern  Virginia,  under  Lee.  The  steamer  was  decked 
with  colors.  The  national  flags  of  Sweden  and  Eussia 
entwined  their  folds  with  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  There 
was  no  token  that  the  disgrace  of  Chancellorsville  was  to 
be  emblazoned  on  its  folds. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  transport  containing 
my  military  equipage  had  arrived  ;  so  that  I  was  trans 
ferred  to  the  steamer  "  City  of  Hudson,"  and  we  left  the 
wharf  for  Norfolk,  with  a  motley  group  of  soldiers,  citi 
zens,  and  those  women,  who,  belying  the  virtues  of  their 
sex,  thronged  the  captured  places  of  the  South. 

Turning  from  a  review  of  my  fellow-passengers,  I  found 
my  time  most  agreeably  occupied  in  looking  out  upon  a 
scene  of  many  stirring  adventures.  We  saw  Sewall's  Point, 
whence  Confederate  batteries  had  thrown  shells  three  miles 
to  the  Eip  Eaps  near  Fortress  Monroe  ;  and  Craney  Island, 
with  the  remains  of  a  large  and  strong  Confederate  fort, 
once  intended  to  guard  the  approaches  to  Elizabeth  Eiver, 
but  from  whose  silent  embrasures  the  spiked  guns  had 
been  removed.  We  passed  the  buoy  which  marked  the 
last  resting-place  of  the  Confederate  ram  "  Merrimac ; "  then 
came  the  wreck  of  the  "  Congress,"  on  whose  historic  deck 
the  brave  Union  sailors  fought  this  monster  clad  in  iron, 
until,  in  the  unequal  contest,  our  brave  tars  surrendered 
only  when  the  waters  of  the  bay  closed  over  their  noble 
vessel.  On  this  spot  was  enacted  the  thrilling  drama  of 
the  little  monitor,  and  the  death  of  the  great  leviathan ; 
while  away  in  the  distance,  guarding  all  access  and  ap 
proach  from  the  Confederate  stronghold  up  the  James,  we 
saw  our  fleet  of  gunboats  and  iron-clads  with  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  floating  over  their  decks.  There  was  the  "Saga- 
mond "  and  the  "  Lehigh,"  whose  round  iron  turrets  held 
those  monster  guns  which  defied  the  heaviest  metal  of  the 
enemy  ;  there,  too,  the  armored  "  Galena  "  and  two  wooden 


ON   THE  JAMES.  37 

vessels,  the  "  Minnesota"  and  the  "  Ossipee,"  —  all  block 
ading  the  mouth  of  the  James,  and  threatening  with  de 
struction  any  Confederate  iron-clads  that  might  have  the 
hardihood  to  confront  them. 

Passing  swiftly  onward  by  the  large  and  commodious 
marine  hospital,  and  by  the  fort  off  Norfolk  Point,  filled 
with  several  hundreds  of  Confederate  prisoners,  officers  and 
privates ;  by  the  English  man-of-war  "  Desperate,"  at  an 
chor  off  the  city,  we  landed  at  the  wharf.  I  was  surprised 
at  the  size  of  the  city  of  Norfolk,  at  its  fine  houses,  its 
churches,  its  air  of  wealth  and  refinement.  The  principal 
hotel  is  a  large  and  new-looking  building,  but  its  accommo 
dations  were  wretched.  On  the  lower  floor  were  a  large 
parlor,  a  great  hall,  and  two  billiard-rooms,  in  which  a  no 
tice  was  posted  stating  that  gentlemen  would  refrain  from 
the  discussion  of  politics  in  the  rooms,  halls,  and  on  the 
door-steps,  lest  the  hotel  should  be  closed  up !  From  the 
feelings  of  the  people,  which  I  was  told  were  those  of  ha 
tred  to  the  North,  it  seemed  to  me  wise  to  taboo  all  discus 
sion  with  Northern  visitors,  leaving  to  the  citizens  the  poor 
privilege  of  looking  the  spite  they  could  not  express. 

In  the  evening  I  called  upon  General  Viele,  who  had  been 
in  command  of  this  city  for  about  a  year.  Viele  was  my 
classmate,  but  for  many  years  his  path  and  mine  had 
diverged.  I  found  him  in  a  comfortable  mansion,  from 
whose  well-furnished  rooms  the  owner  with  his  family  had 
fled,  engaged  in  opening  a  Confederate  mail-bag  recently 
captured.  Two  of  the  letters  he  showed  me  in  print  in  a 
daily  paper  published  in  Norfolk,  where,  as  he  informed 
me,  the  others  would  in  time  be  found,  until  all  had  been 
given  to  the  public.  In  these  letters  there  were  admis 
sions  of  the  great  privations  and  the  great  destitution 
which  the  war  had  imposed  on  the  Southern  people ;  but 
these  were  tempered  with  rejoicings  at  the  promise  that  in 


38  A  WAR   DIARY. 

six  months  longer  there  would  be  peace.  As  I  read  the 
tender  words  which  a  poor  deluded  Confederate  soldier  had 
written  to  his  wife  and  children,  —  words  which  they  were 
never  to  see,  —  I  was  touched  and  saddened.  It  is  hard  to 
pity  the  actors  while  condemning  the  act ;  and  yet  no  one 
can  refuse  his  sympathy  whenever  a  cry  of  agony  is  wrung 
from  any  wife  or  child  for  that  husband  and  father  who 
lies  cold  and  silent  on  the  battle-field  awaiting  an  unknown 
grave. 

There  was  another  class  of  correspondence,  in  which  a 
New  York  firm  had  engaged,  that  filled  us  with  indigna 
tion.  These  honorable  men  were  employed  in  the  lucrative 
business  of  receiving  contraband  correspondence  from  no 
torious  Eebels,  to  be  forwarded  to  Europe  through  our  own 
mails.  This  discovery  was  made  through  a  note  found  in 
the  voluminous  skirt  which  a  captured  blockade-running 
female  had  so  overloaded  with  freight  as  to  excite  the  sus 
picions  of  our  officers.  I  much  regret  that  I  did  not  make 
a  note  of  all  the  goods,  dry  and  otherwise,  which  were 
fished  out  of  this  receptacle,  and  piled  in  disorder  before 
the  stricken  female  by  her  ruthless  examiner.  The  sight 
would  have  been  amazing;  for,  although  not  sufficiently 
extensive  to  have  stocked  a  wholesale  establishment,  it 
would  have  suggested  a  fair  retail  trade.  But  detection 
did  not  quench  that  Di  Vernon  spirit  which  was  exhibited 
by  many  of  the  women  of  Norfolk.  They  were  willing  to 
do  all  and  dare  all  to  aid  their  brethren  in  their  cause ; 
and,  though  broken  by  want  and  suffering,  they  had  more 
than  once,  with  a  conspicuous  show  of  dagger  and  pistol 
in  their  belt,  demanded  protection  for  that  home  which 
in  a  few  short  months  became  so  poor  that  its  occupants 
were  fain  humbly  to  beg  from  Union  commissaries  for 
their  daily  food. 

On  the  first  of  May,  a  meagre  breakfast,  a  large  hotel 


ON  THE  JAMES.  39 

bill,  and  a  few  preliminaries  for  my  departure  were  all 
duly  despatched ;  when,  with  my  military  family  and  full 
equipment  of  horses  and  servants,  I  entered  the  special 
train  of  one  passenger  and  one  baggage  car  that  steamed 
off  for  Suffolk.  For  more  than  an  hour  we  proceeded 
slowly  across  the  northern  end  of  the  Dismal  Swamp,  with 
its  shaggy  life  of  dense  brushwood  covering  the  marshy 
bottom ;  with  its  dead  trees,  scathed  and  whitened  into 
living  monuments  in  that  dank  spot,  where  all  was  sedgy 
and  pathless.  Then  crossing  the  Jericho  canal,  we  wound 
through  the  fortified  line  of  redoubts  and'  rifle-pits  that 
surrounded  the  town.  Near  the  western  redoubt  General 
Peck  had  established  his  headquarters ;  and  there  I  was 
cordially  received  and  invited  to  examine  the  works,  offen 
sive  and  defensive. 

The  defences  of  Suffolk  consisted  of  a  series  of  connected 
redoubts  and  rifle-pits.  On  the  extreme  west  are  Forts 
Nansemond,  Rosecrans,  and  South  Quay  battery ;  and  on 
the  north,  south  and  east,  Forts  McClellan,  Union,  Dix, 
Halleck,  and  Jericho.  The  entire  fronts  are  swept  by  ar 
tillery  and  musketry.  Those  surprisingly  strong  works 
were  begun  in  September,  1862,  under  General  Peck's 
supervision.  Up  to  that  time  Suffolk  had  been  under  the 
command  of  General  Mansfield,  and  had  been  guarded  in 
the  usual  manner,  by  pickets  thrown  out  to  the  front  and 
on  the  main  roads,  by  patrols  of  troops,  and  by  gunboats 
on  the  waters  of  the  Nansemond  River.  The  dense  pine 
forests  which  then  surrounded  the  place  came  almost  up 
to  the  town  on  the  south,  affording  shelter  for  an  attack 
ing  force.  Now,  however,  the  timber  had  been  removed, 
and  no  cover  was  to  be  found  nearer  than  half  a  mile,  while 
in  some  places  the  ground  was  uncovered  and  clear  for 
more  than  a  mile.  The  trunks  of  felled  trees  furnished  a 
solid  foundation  for  the  breastworks  and  batteries,  while 


40  A  WAR  DIARY. 

from  the  branches  thousands  of  gabions  and  fascines  filled 
with  well  packed  earth  had  been  constructed.  Barrels  and 
meal  bags,  packed  with  sand,  added  to  the  solidity  of  our 
fortifications,  and  rendered  harmless  many  of  the  enemy's 
missiles ;  for  it  is  a  well  established  fact  that  an  Enfield 
rifle-ball,  fired  at  very  short  range  into  a  sack  of  well 
rammed  sand,  will  penetrate  only  about  five  inches,  and 
then  it  is  perfectly  flattened.  Our  own  regimental  en 
campments  were  so  near  the  rifle-pits  of  the  enemy  that 
bullets  whistled  around  our  ears,  tents  were  perforated, 
and  the  men  within  them  frequently  wounded.  Indeed, 
so  near  were  some  of  the  Confederate  rifle-pits  to  our  own 
that  it  was  perilous  in  the  extreme  to  visit  them  by  day 
light. 

Ever  since  the  eleventh  of  the  previous  month,  —  more 
than  twenty  days,  —  the  enemy  had  been  looking  longingly 
at  our  lines.  He  came  to  enter  Suffolk,  and  thus  get  con 
trol  of  the  Nansemond  River ;  to  move  on  Norfolk,  and  open 
the  James  to  the  ocean.  By  a  vigorous  use  of  the  spade 
in  the  hands  of  soldiers  and  "  contrabands,"  Suffolk  had  been 
made  impregnable,  and  the  enemy's  plans  were  thwarted. 
Hooker,  we  hoped,  would  give  Longstreet  cause  to  leave 
us,  and  carry  aid  to  his  Fredericksburg  brethren.  General 
Peck  deserves  great  credit  for  his  foresight,  and  for  the  skill 
with  which  he  had  surrounded  this  town  with  defensive 
and  protective  works ;  for  within  them  he  had  established 
a  camp  for  negroes  called  the  Contraband  Camp,  which  I 
visited.  After  leaping  a  rifle-pit,  and  floundering  through 
a  marsh,  I  found  a  collection  of  negroes,  male  and  female,  of 
all  sizes  and  colors,  packed  in  houses  of  their  own  construc 
tion, —  the  whole  bearing  some  resemblance  to  a  village  of 
Hottentots.  Pine  clapboards  formed  the  walls,  roofs,  and 
doors  of  the  houses,  which  were  about  six  feet  long  by  five 
wide,  and  about  six  feet  high.  The  front  of  each  and  the 


ON   THE   JAMES.  41 

streets  were  ornamented  with  rows  of  young  pines  ;  and  in 
the  middle  of  the  village  was  a  square  in  which  negroes 
were  running,  skipping,  and  playing,  with  light  hearts, 
apparently  little  concerned  that  just  beyond  were  their 
enemies,  —  their  old  masters.  The  gayety  and  careless 
ness  of  this  people  in  the  rnidst  of  the  mighty  struggle 
going  on  around  them  were  remarkable,  though  no  one  had 
greater  interests  at  stake  in  it  than  they ;  and  in  some  few 
cases  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  seriousness  of  the  circum 
stances  was  really  appreciated  by  them.  General  Peck 
colonized  and  cared  for  all  that  came  within  his  lines. 
He  also  encouraged  them  in  giving  free  vent  to  their  joy 
ous  dispositions.  In  this  respect  there  was  a  very  strik 
ing  contrast  to  the  constrained  solemnity  presented  by  the 
negroes  of  Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  where  the  command 
ing  officer  had  attempted  to  tone  down  a  natural  exuberance 
of  spirits,  and  make  his  negroes  conform  to  a  solemn  and 
serious  bearing,  more  becoming,  as  he  thought,  to  the  moral 
and  intellectual  state  upon  which  they  had  entered. 

On  returning  to  our  fortified  lines,  we  heard  the  rapid 
firing  of  artillery  on  the  western  front ;  not  the  occasional 
shots  we  had  heard  at  intervals  during  the  day,  but  a  fast 
and  furious  cannonade,  towards  which  we  moved  hastily, 
gaining  the  rear  of  the  redoubt  in  time  to  be  greeted  by  a 
fusillade  of  musketry,  as  if  several  regiments  were  engaged. 
The  excitement  increased  by  the  constant  dashing  up  and 

away  of  orderlies,  reporting,  "  General is  at  his  front, 

sir."  —  "  General  -  —  is  with  his  command,  sir,"  —  "  Gen 
eral  will  hold  his  command  in  readiness,  sir,"  —  and 

by  some  young  staff  officers,  with  their  horses' mouths  bloody 
from  cruel  curbs,  calling  out,  "  We  are  here  to  report  to 
you,  General."  All  this  excitement,  cannonading  and  fusil 
lading,  breaking  as  it  were  out  of  a  serene  sky,  was  pic 
turesque  ;  indeed,  it  had  quite  the  appearance  of  a  ininia- 


42  A  WAR  DIARY. 

ture  battle.  The  cause  of  all  this  mystery  was  apparent 
when  tranquillity  was  restored;  then  it  appeared  that  a 
zealous  general  had  thrown  forward  three  or  four  hundred 
of  his  men,  thinking  to  catch  the  enemy  in  retreat,  and 
perchance  fall  upon  a  small  rear-guard,  and  that  he  had 
been  permitted  to  approach  within  easy  and  sure  range, 
when  he  encountered  a  severe  fire  from  a  reinforced  line 
of  two  or  more  Eebel  brigades.  Nothing  was  left  us  but 
to  fall  back ;  and  this  was  done  with  a  heavy  loss  in  killed 
and  wounded,  all  of  whom  were  left  upon  the  field.  Ten 
men  who  seemed  to  have  been  killed  we  could  readily 
count,  they  lay  there  so  still ;  but  near  them  were  others 
showing  signs  of  life,  one  of  whom  raised  his  head,  looked 
about,  and  fell  again,  as  if  unable  to  get  away  without  aid 
from  his  comrades,  and  this  could  not  be  given  until  night, 
by  which  time  I  had  no  doubt  despatches  to  the  New  York 
dailies  would  report  that  "  the  object  of  the  movement  was 
accomplished.''  Firing  from  our  heavy  guns  continued 
with  diminishing  frequency  long  after  our  return  to  head 
quarters,  and  was  prolonged  into  the  night.  The  thunder  of 
artillery  shook  our  house  to  its  foundations  ;  the  scream  of 
bullets  and  the  boom  of  heavy  siege-pieces  in  a  fort  but  a 
few  rods  from  our  door,  rendered  sleep  impossible  until 
near  daylight,  when  these  sounds  ceased,  and  I  fell  into  a 
refreshing  slumber. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2d  of  May  I  awoke  to  find  at  our 
quarters  a  deserter  from  the  enemy,  a  mild,  gentle-looking 
boy  of  eighteen  or  twenty,  whose  trousers,  originally  blue, 
had,  by  much  service  and  exposure,  faded  into  slate  color : 
they  came  from  Texas,  the  boy  said,  before  the  Eebel- 
lion,  and  "was  right  smart  pants  then."  A  gray  jacket 
and  slouched  hat,  an  earthen  mug  for  a  canteen  strapped 
through  the  handle  around  the  waist,  completed  the  picture. 
He  was  as  innocent  and  mild  a  youth  as  any  of  the  thou- 


ON   THE  JAMES.  43 

sands  of  victims  of  vicious  and  corrupt  leaders.  He  frankly 
avowed  himself  a  deserter,  affirming  that  his  whole  com 
pany  knew  that  he  was  going  to  desert ;  and  further  inform 
ing  us  that  General  Pickett's  division,  in  which  he  served, 
was  under  orders  to  move.  When  I  asked  him  if  his  com 
rades  would  desert  if  they  knew  they  would  be  treated 
well,  and  if  they  were  tired  of  the  war,  he  replied,  with  an 
expression  on  his  face  far  stronger  than  his  words :  "  The 
men  are  hopeless  of  success.  And  yet  the  officers  say  they 
know  the  South  will  win ;  but  they  cannot  make  the  men 
believe  it."  Upon  this,  he  was  subjected  to  a  further  exami 
nation  by  General  Peck,  before  he  was  turned  over  to  the 
provost  marshal  for  conveyance  North. 

But  a  few  days  before,  a  newly-made  brigadier-general 
had  shot  mortally  Lieut.-Colonel  Kimball,  in  the  streets  of 
Suffolk,  without  any  special  cause  or  even  regret  for  the 
act  so  far  as  I  could  perceive ;  and  although  there  may  have 
been  some  justification,  none  was  offered,  though  it  was 
said  that  the  colonel  refused  to  allow  Cochrane  to  pass  his 
encampment  at  night  without  giving  the  countersign.  This 
summary  method  of  enforcing  his  own  will  caused  much 
sorrow  and  excitement,  which  the  mournful  notes  of  the 
dead  inarch,  as  a  funeral  procession  bearing  the  dead  of 
yesterday's  fight  passed  our  headquarters,  did  not  allay. 
While  the  dirge  mingled  with  the  occasional  booming 
of  our  heavy  guns,  the  telegraph  brought  noiselessly  to 
General  Peck  the  news  in  cipher  that  Hooker,  with  one 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand  men,  was  in  motion  towards 
Chancellorsville. 

A  division  of  old  troops,  recently  under  General  Aber- 
crombie  near  the  city  of  Washington,  sent  here  as  rein 
forcements,  was  assigned  to  my  command,  and  I  took  for 
my  headquarters  a  large  hotel  near  the  centre  of  the  town, 
occupied  by  women  and  children.  The  husband  and  father 


44  A  WAR  DIARY. 

of  this  family,  as  also  the  whole  class  of  intelligent  male 
Secessionists  in  Suffolk,  had  been  sent  to  Norfolk  and 
imprisoned.  With  many  objections  and  some  tears,  the 
women  and  children  moved  into  another  part  of  the  house, 
leaving  for  my  use  four  or  five  very  dirty  rooms,  some  of 
which  had  been  leased  to  camp-followers,  and  were  there 
fore  a  source  of  profit.  To  some  extent  I  removed  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  my  taking  possession,  by  soothing  the  old 
lady  whom  I  pitied,  flattering  the  young  ones  who  smiled, 
and  by  kicking  out  the  camp-followers  who  were  impudent. 
There  we  had  our  first  supper,  of  our  own  material  and 
from  our  own  service.  The  remains  of  the  old  mess-chest 
furnished  one  china  cup  and  saucer,  two  tin  cups  without 
saucers,  three  teaspoons,  one  tumbler  and  one  wine-glass, 
three  plates  of  china  and  one  of  tin,  three  forks  and  three 
knives,  with  which  to  proffer  a  very  scanty  hospitality  if 
the  occasion  should  offer.  • 

The  next  day  we  heard  regiments  from  General  Getty's 
command  moving,  to  the  subdued  tapping  of  drums,  towards 
a  bridge  laid  the  night  before  over  the  Nansemond,  to  enter 
upon  a  reconnoissance  in  force,  which  should  reveal  the 
effect  on  Longstreet  of  Hooker's  movement  towards  Chan 
cellors  ville.  We  held  ourselves  and  our  command  in 
readiness  to  move  to  Getty's  assistance. 

The  reconnoissance  goes  on  manfully.  Within  a  dark, 
encircling  line  of  woods  the  enemy  conceals  his  presence. 
How  soon  and  how  suddenly  a  terrible  fire  may  break  out, 
that  will  slaughter  the  approaching  Federals,  they  cannot 
know,  for  no  scouts  of  ours  have  penetrated,  no  searching 
shells  have  revealed,  what  they  may  contain.  Hence  our 
lines  approach  with  caution,  and  slowly.  There  is  but  little 
cover :  only  now  and  then  a  friendly  ridge,  towards  which 
the  men  rush,  then  fall  and  pause ;  again  to  rise  and  run 
and  drop  flat  upon  the  earth,  only  to  renew  the  forward 


ON   THE  JAMES.  45 

movement.  Thus  they  approach  a  thicket,  within  which  a 
few  houses  and  out-buildings  give  shelter  to  a  Rebel  force, 
\vith  whom  there  is  a  skirmish  till  the  enemy  gives  way, 
and  our  own  men  proceed.  By  noon  the  Rebels  seem  to 
have  made  a  stand,  after  falling  back  about  a  mile ;  and 
they  open  with  shot  and  shell  from  batteries  in  the  woods. 
Ah,  if  we  could  only  tell  what  strength  they  have  there  in 
that  forest !  We  may  perhaps  find  out,  for  there  is  a  batch 
of  prisoners  approaching,  one  of  them  a  heavy-looking  man 
of  about  seven-and-twenty,  —  an  Alabamian,  who  says 
"  whar  "  for  "  where,"  and  seats  himself  cross-legged  before 
us  in  a  free  and  easy  way,  with  his  cap  on  his  head,  blanket 
folded  in  a  roll  worn  like  a  scarf  across  his  shoulders,  with 
haversack,  gray  trousers  and  coat.  He  was  taken,  he  told 
me,  "  by  some  of  your  boys  "  in  the  rear  of  the  position  we 
occupy,  while  delivering  a  message  from  his  captain  "  to 
our  boys  "  to  fall  back  as  "  your  boys  were  coming  up ; " 
and  he  was  just  passing  through  a  little  ravine  to  avoid  the 
flying  bullets,  when  he  saw  "  two  or  three  of  your  boys  "  on 
the  crest  of  the  ravine,  and  he  called  out,  "  Don't  shoot,  1 11 
give  up  ! "  and  "  so  he  was  taken  and  sent  to  the  rear."  The 
Rebels  have  plenty  to  eat,  the  prisoner  says,  plenty  of  bacon, 
—  in  proof  of  which  he  took  a  very  palatable  piece  of  the 
latter  from  his  haversack  ;  but  he  had  no  bread  save  "what 
your  boys  gave  me."  He  was  of  Law's  brigade,  Hood's 
division,  —  a  division  containing  "  twenty-five  hundred  men 
about ; "  and  he  knew  that  Pickett's  division  was  before  us  ; 
that  their  boys  were  posted  on  each  side  of  the  road  that 
runs  through  the  woods  which  our  skirmishers  have  gained  ; 
that  their  artillery  is  behind  an  earth-work,  with  abatis 
in  front ;  that  they  have  rifle-pits,  and  are  very  strong. 
"  Well ;  we  are  just  now  going  to  charge  and  take  them," 
I  said  quickly.  "Then,"  he  replied  without  hesitation, 
"  there  will  be  a  big  fight,  sure."  So,  so  !  I  thought ;  are 


46  A   WAR  DIARY. 

they  indeed  strongly  intrenched  in  the  woods,  and  would  it 
be  death  and  defeat  to  our  forces  to  charge  them  without 
knowing  more  than  can  be  gathered  from  glimpses  through 
the  thick  brushwood,  or  than  can  be  inferred  from  the  obsti 
nacy  of  the  Rebels  at  this  time  ?  If  this  prisoner  has  told 
the  truth,  what  a  disaster  we  may  avoid ;  if  he  be  false, 
what  an  advantage  forego !  The  stake  is  important ;  we 
play  with  human  pawns  1 

This  bushy,  red-haired  prisoner  had  been  questioned  by 
General  Peck,  who  seemed,  despite  his  avowals,  inclined 
to  order  a  forward  movement  to  clear  the  woods,  advance 
upon  the  battery,  and  attempt  its  capture ;  but  before  doing 
so  he  invited  my  opinion,  which  was  opposed  to  the  move 
ment.  I  believed  the  Alabamian  to  be  honest.  I  felt 
confident  that  the  enemy  was  strong  in  numbers  and  in 
position,  and  that  he  had  been  only  luring  our  men  on  to 
their  destruction  ;  in  short,  I  believed  the  prisoner  to  have 
spoken  from  actual  knowledge  when  he  declared  "  there 
will  be  a  big  fight  then,  sure,"  and  I  felt  positive  that  we 
should  avoid  disaster  by  delay,  for  Hooker's  movement 
would  divert  the  enemy  from  here.  Again,  inasmuch  as 
the  force  to  defend  Suffolk  could  not  be  augmented,  and 
our  loss  in  case  of  reverse  might  —  nay,  would  necessa 
rily —  be  considerable,  we  were  not  justified  in  attempt 
ing  what  if  successful  would  be  but  little  gain,  and  which 
if  disastrous  might  give  Suffolk  to  the  enemy. 

General  Getty  agreeing  with  me,  Peck  at  length  coin 
cided  with  us,  and  decided  to  make  no  further  advance. 
Skirmishers  on  both  sides  became  quiet;  but  our  heavy 
guns  and  their  smaller  ones  kept  on  growling  away  while 
our  many  wounded  and  dead  were  brought  back  in  ambu 
lances  and  on  stretchers,  covered  with  blood.  Moving  up  in 
rear  of  the  Federal  line,  as  near  as  the  proximity  of  the 
enemy's  sharpshooters  made  it  advisable,  I  saw  our  skir- 


ON  THE  JAMES.  47 

mishers  lying  flat  on  the  edge  of  the  wood,  and  near  by  the 
body  of  Colonel  Einggold  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Third 
New  York,  who,  having  exposed  himself  unnecessarily  but 
fearlessly  on  his  white  horse,  was  shot  by  a  Eebel  marks 
man  from  a  tree.  The  road  was  filled  with  cavalry,  col 
umns  of  infantry  and  ambulances,  and  so  remained  till  the 
sun  sank  beneath  the  horizon  and  night  covered  us ;  and 
then  the  enemy  turned  from  our  front  and  marched  away 
towards  Fredericksburg,  where,  as  we  learned  from  pris 
oners  and  negroes,  fighting  with  Hooker  had  begun.  At 
daylight  I  galloped  out  in  the  direction  of  the  retreat,  fol 
lowing  a  reconnoitring  party  of  cavalry  and  infantry.  It 
was  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  May.  I  pushed  on  over 
the  open  ground  beyond  our  rifle-pits,  through  a  wooded 
belt,  over  a  second  open  field,  mid  way  in  which  I  came 
to  rifle-pits  of  the  enemy,  each  large  enough  to  hold  six 
or  seven  men;  then  through  the  woods  again  to  cleared 
ground,  fringed  at  its  further  side  by  a  dense  forest.  Here 
I  came  upon  clievaux  defrise  of  strong  and  sharpened  limbs 
of  pitch-pine  trees,  twelve  feet  in  depth,  and  so  completely 
covering  the  front  that  we  should  have  suffered  grievously 
before  its  lance-like  points.  This  was  Longstreet's  first 
obstruction ;  but  it  was  as  nothing  to  the  deep  ditch, 
breast  high  (a  continuous  rifle-pit,  or  intrenchment,  with 
parapet),  connecting  at  important  points  stout  embank 
ments  for  artillery,  fifty  yards  in  its  rear.  Thus  not  only 
was  the  main  road  of  our  approach  perfectly  commanded 
by  a  redoubt  with  embrasures  for  seven  guns,  but  the  al 
most  impenetrable  forest  held  it  secure  from  efforts  to  take 
it  in  flank.  As  I  carefully  examined  the  very  thorough 
manner  in  which  this  work  had  been  executed,  —  the  re- 
vetements  a  wattling  of  oak-limbs  flexible  enough  to  be 
woven  between  large  stakes  planted  by  the  sides  of  the 
openings,  the  parapet  of  logs  enclosing  well  rammed  earth, — 


48  A  WAR   DIARY. 

and  as  I  gazed  upon  the  rifle-pits,  forests,  clievaux  de  frise, 
and  trenches,  I  could  no  longer  wonder  that  the  Alaba- 
mian  was  sent  to  tell  "  our  boys  "  to  fall  back,  in  the  hope 
that  we  might  follow  and  partake  of  this  Southern 
hospitality. 

I  pushed  on  through  these  deserted  fortifications,  finding 
everywhere  evidence  of  the  hasty  departure  of  the  enemy, 
and  —  alas  for  the  vandalism! — for  many  miles  houses  in 
flames,  that  had  been  homes  of  the  poorest  whites  of  Vir 
ginia.  Except  that  desolation  invariably  marks  the  course 
of  armies,  it  would  be  hard  to  tell  why  any  of  these  hovels 
were  burned,  or  by  whom  such  acts  of  barbarism  were  com 
mitted.  A  smart  shower  drove  me  into  a  poor  cottage 
where  a  woman  and  her  two  daughters,  of  about  eleven  and 
sixteen  years,  were  brooding  over  the  surrounding  desola 
tion.  The  awful  presence  of  war,  with  its  horrid  incidents 
of  carnage  and  destruction,  had  so  paralyzed  the  woman's 
nature  and  susceptibilities  that  she  was  indifferent  to  the 
result ;  while  the  girls,  who  were  both  shy  and  pretty, 
made  no  concealment  of  the  fact  that  their  hearts  were 
with  the  Southern  soldiers.  Jesse,  the  woman's  husband, 
was  not  at  home.  "  He  has  stood  the  draft  three  times  for 
our  army,"  said  his  wife,  "  and  he  has  escaped ;  but  lately 
lie  got  to  know  that  they  were  going  to  take  him  away 
anyhow,  and  so  he  just  went  away,  I  reckon.  Yes,  indeed, 
we  are  poor  enough ;  but  I  have  saved  three  of  my  hogs, 
and  Jesse  has  a  horse,  but  he  has  been  obliged  to  buy  him 
twice  though,  once  from  the  Yankee  army,  and  again  from 
our  army  of  a  man  who  claimed  him  and  proved  it.  Jesse 
paid  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  him,  bank  money, 
sure ;  for  he  was  a  likely  animal,  very  likely."  Such  a 
cabin  for  a  home !  and  yet  its  owner  could  afford  to  pay 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  a  horse,  "  bank  money, 
sure,"  while  he  utterly  ignored  the  fact  that  the  room  in 


ON  THE  JAMES.  49 

which  he  lived  and  ate  and  slept,  with  its  two  beds  and  two 
doors,  was  windowless.  "Jesse  has  been  thinking  and 
talking  for  twelve  years  of  putting  in  a  window,  but  he  has 
not  done  it ;  so  we  leave  our  doors  open  wide  for  light  in 
summer,  and  in  winter  we  leave  them  part  way  open.  But 
the  cracks  have  grown  worse  of  late,  and  they  light  us 
some."  The  oldest  daughter  was  a  modest-looking,  sensible 
girl,  with  cheeks  telling  of  robust  health.  And  with  an 
education  ?  —  ah,  well,  "  the  old  man  who  taught  school 
away  down  somewhere,  moved  away  when  the  war  broke 
out.  They  don't  have  meetings  Sunday,  often  now,  in  that 
part  of  the  country,  neither."  How  do  they  live?  "Well, 
Jesse  often  sells  a  load  of  fish,  and  with  this  we  manage  to 
get  along."  And  pay  too,  I  fancied,  for  the  nice  and  tidy 
little  apron  the  blooming  daughter  wore  in  the  little  log- 
cabin  on  the  Somerton  road,  where  the  old  mother  brooded 
over  her  losses,  smoked  her  pipe,  and  waited  for  Jesse.  I 
don't  know  why  I  became  so  sentimental  over  objects  of 
home  affection,  even  though  they  were  found  in  this 
miserable  cottage  ;  but  I  actually  felt  my  heart  touched  by 
the  old  cat  who  reeled  along  towards  the  fire-place,  to 
warm  her  poor  bones  by  a  few  dying  embers.  "  She  has 
been  a  first-rate  cat  in  her  day,"  said  the  old  woman,  "  but 
now  her  teeth  are  gone,  and  the  children  chaws  meat  for 
her,  and  gives  her  gravies  and  sich  like.  She  is  almost 
done ;  and  it  ain't  right  to  kill  a  poor  old  animal  that  has 
served  you  well,  jest  because  she  is  a  little  old." 

Cat,  cottage,  and  Jesse ;  the  old  woman  and  her  daugh 
ters,  —  all  growing  old  together  in  the  windowless  cottage, 
with  its  cracks  and  its  doors,  its  one  room  and  a  ladder  to 
the  loft,  —  pursued  me,  as  I  pushed,  on  by  burning  houses, 
prisoners  in  batches  overtaken  and  captured  in  our  pursuit, 
by  ambulances,  wagons,  and  artillery,  to  within  two  miles 
of  Leesville,  where  I  met  the  reconnoitering  force  return- 

4 


50  A  WAR  DIARY. 

ing  ;  the  enemy  had  crossed  the  Black  Water  in  safety  and 
had  eluded  us.  Their  strong  defences  fully  enabled  them 
to  conceal  their  departure,  while  our  command  was  too 
small  to  detain  them  by  forcing  a  battle. 

We  have  taken  in  all  some  two  hundred  prisoners  ;  and 
they  report  that  Longstreet  moved  out  of  his  works  in 
the  previous  night,  without  a  moment's  warning ;  indeed, 
with  so  much  precipitancy,  that  shirts  were  left  drying  on 
the  bushes,  and  in  some  cases  cartridge  boxes  could  not  be 
found  in  the  darkness.  We  were  informed,  too,  by  our 
prisoners,  that  many  of  their  comrades  lay  concealed  in  the 
woods,  awaiting  only  an  opportunity  to  surrender,  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance,  and  be  delivered  from  the  trials  and 
fatigues  of  the  war.  Longstreet' s  rapid  flight  was  due,  they 
said,  to  the  rumor  that  "  Hooker  was  giving  Lee  hell,"  and 
to  a  call  for  immediate  assistance,  —  all  of  which,  for  the 
brief  period  in  which  we  indulged  this  delusion,  was  pleas 
ing  in  the  extreme.  "  God  grant  that  these  stories  may  be 
true ! "  we  cried :  and,  indeed,  we  found  much  more  evi 
dence  than  was  exhibited  on  the  Somerton  road  that  our 
enemy's  call  was  most  urgent,  or  he  would  not  have  aban 
doned  so  promising  an  opportunity  of  catching  us  in  the 
traps  he  had  set. 

This  was  most  apparent  on  the  road  which  led  to  the 
scene  of  Sunday's  skirmish.  It  was  here  that  our  prisoner 
had  warned  us  by  his  honest  words,  "  that  there  would  be 
a  big  fight  there,  sure."  Now,  to  judge  for  myself,  I 
crossed,  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  May,  the  Nansemond 
Eiver,  on  a  rickety  bridge,  whose  central  pier  was  a  canal- 
boat,  rode  beyond  the  line  where  I  halted  during  the  fight, 
and  entered  the  first  line  of  Longstreet's  intrenchments. 
These  were  so  situated  near  the  brow  of  a  steep  hill  as  to 
sweep  the  summit,  if  it  were  gained  by  an  assaulting  col 
umn.  Toward  the  rear  were  numerous  batteries  com- 


ON  THE  JAMES.  51 

manding  this  position,  while  in  front  there  were  the  same 
accompaniments  of  abatis  and  rifle-pits  as  on  the  Somerton 
road.  Here  I  saw  parts  of  burnt  caissons  and  the  wreck 
of  material,  with  trails  of  -fire  in  the  wood,  all  of  which 
were  due  to  our  shells  in  Sunday's  fight.  But  there  were 
yet  more  and  heavier  defences  behind.  In  the  dense  forest 
I  came  to  a  second  line  of  intrenchments,  so  constructed 
with  salient  and  re-entering  angles  that  Longstreet's  infan 
try  would  have  been  protected  from  front  or  flank  attack. 
This  work  was  about  five  hundred  yards  in  the  rear  of  the 
first ;  but  it  was  not  all.  About  the  same  distance  in  rear 
of  the  second  another  line  was  disclosed,  just  below  the 
crest  of  a  hill ;  if  haply  we  had  overcome  preceding  obsta 
cles  and  had  emerged  from  the  woods,  we  should  have 
been  received  by  a  volley  murderous  enough  to  have  frus 
trated  our  efforts.  Beyond  the  third  line  I  came  to  a  space 
enclosed  by  trunks  of  trees,  planted  in  the  ground.  The 
work  was  recent  and  well  constructed.  It  appeared  to  me 
to  have  been  intended  for  an  enclosure  for  horses,  and 
seemed  to  denote  a  prolonged  stay.  The  same  exhibition 
of  defensive  works  was  said  to  have  been  found  on  the 
other  roads  leading  from  Suffolk.  I  have  thus  far  exam 
ined  only  two,  but  from  these  I  was  convinced  of  the  sound 
ness  of  my  advice  to  General  Peck,  on  Sunday,  that  the  spot 
in  front  of  our  skirmishers  was  too  strong  to  assault,  and  I 
agreed  with  my  Alabamian  that  "  there  would  have  been  a 
big  fight  there,  sure." 

As  there  remained  but  one  more  road  of  importance  lead 
ing  westerly  and  northerly  from  Suffolk,  and  as  I  was  de 
sirous  of  seeing  if  these  strong  intrenchments  surrounded 
the  town,  I  rode  out  some  four  or  five  miles  on  the  Eden- 
ton  road,  where  I  reached  the  defensive  line  of,  first, 
the  usual  rifle-pits,  continuous  and  concealed  in  the  skirt 
of  timber,  and,  next,  about  eight  hundred  yards  to  the 


52  A  WAR  DIARY. 

rear,  two  earthworks  for  batteries,  one  behind  the  other ; 
the  foremost  constructed  for  six  guns,  the  other  for  one. 
In  front  of  the  batteries  were  intrenchments  for  infantry, 
with  a  ditch  and  parapet  of  earth  and  logs  nine  feet  thick. 
Both  flanks  of  this  line  were  protected  by  an-  impassable 
swamp ;  while  along  the  front  formidable  abatis  presented 
a  serious  obstacle  to  our  approach.  I  found  here  a  regi 
ment  of  Union  troops,  with  arms  stacked,  engaged  in  the 
demolition  of  the  works.  Along  the  main  road,  for  a  dis 
tance  of  three  hundred  yards,  was  a  by-path  or  lane,  shaded 
with  fir  trees,  leading  to  a  fine-looking  old  mansion,  with 
its  storehouses,  piggeries,  barns,  and  cabins  ;  a  place  where 
the  fruits  of  peace  were  garnered,  strangely  contrasting 
with  the  long  line  of  Eebel  works,  the  stacked  arms,  labor 
ing  soldiers,  the  bodies  of  those  killed  in  the  reconnois- 
sance,  muffled  drums,  and  files  of  mourning  soldiers  with 
arms  reversed. 

This  affair  terminated  our  course  of  action  at  Suffolk, 
and  was  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  operations  contem 
plated  by  General  Dix,  for  the  first  of  which  my  com 
mand  had  been  designated.  Therefore,  on  the  morning  of 
the  6th  of  May,  I  went  by  rail  to  Norfolk,  accompanied  by 
several  hundred  private  soldiers,  prisoners,  in  baggage  cars. 
The  Eebel  officers  were  treated  with  more  consideration 
than  were  ours  when  prisoners  of  war ;  they  were  seated 
with  me  in  the  single  passenger  car  of  the  train,  a  dozen  of 
them,  long-haired,  tobacco-chewing  and  tobacco-spitting 
fellows,  with  dingy,  soiled  uniforms. 

During  many  weary  hours  of  delay  the  Confederate  offi 
cers  found  amusement  in  chaffing  one  another,  in  a  brag 
ging  and  boisterous  manner,  upon  how  each  was  captured, 
what  they  did,  etc. ;  that  this  one  cried  out,  "  Fight,"  and  that 
replied,  "  No  use  ; "  that  one  "  pulled  out  his  pistol,  but  our 
cavalry  was  on  both  sides  of  them."  And  then  followed  a 


ON   THE  JAMES.  53 

bragging  description  of  the  mode  of  capture  by  the  most 
loquacious  Eebel :  "  I  threw  my  pistol  on  the  ground,  and 
it  was  picked  up  by  one  of  the  cavalry.  '  You  have  a 
Yankee  pistol/  said  he.  —  'I  have/  said  I.  ' And  a 
Yankee  belt/  said  he.  —  'I  have  !  did  you  ever  see  that 
pistol  before  ? '  '  Can't  say/  said  he.  '  Well,  I  captured 
both,  and  you  are  only  getting  what  belongs  to  you/  "  said 
I.  Then  followed  high-toned  conversation,  of  a  sort  not 
unknown  to  the  chivalry,  —  as  to  who  was  drunk,  and 
when  he  was  drunk,  and  who  was  seedy,  and  how  they 
liked  that  peach  brandy. 

Such  stalwart  utterances  naturally  excited  the  Mun- 
chausen  propensities  of  a  Yankee  officer  present,  who, 
turning  to  his  neighbor,  said :  "  I  vow,  it  pleased  me  to  see 
him !  He  captured  three  Eebels  all  by  himself,  —  he  did. 
You  don't  believe  it  ?  Well,  I  tell  you  it  is  true  !  He 
went  out  alone,  and  came  back  marching  them  before  him." 
This  imputation  added  new  fuel  to  Eebel  breath,  and  caused 
an  increased  uproar,  which  I  stopped  by  sending  my  aid  to 
inform  the  officer  in  charge  of  Eebel  prisoners  that  all  loud 
talking  must  cease. 

In  two  hours  and  twenty  minutes  we  arrived  at  Nor 
folk,  where  we  were  met  by  a  crowd  of  gazers,  both  male 
and  female,  the  latter  of  whom  waved  their  handkerchiefs 
at  our  Eebel  prisoners  in  token  of  admiration,  which  I 
fear  soon  subsided ;  for,  out  of  one  hundred  and  ninety  of 
our  captives,  one  hundred  and  fifteen  took  the  oath  of  alle 
giance  rather  than  be  exchanged  for  further  Confederate 
service.  The  repentant  many  and  the  defiant  few  were 
sent  to  Fortress  Monroe  in  different  boats,  but  at  the  same 
time ;  so  that,  as  the  steamers  moved  off,  the  Eebels  who 
would  not  shook  their  fists  at  those  who  would  return  to 
their  allegiance  through  the  formality  of  an  oath. 

While  my  troops,  wet  and  uncomfortable,  were  crowded 


54  A  WAR  DIARY. 

on  board  transports,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  batteries  of 
artillery  that  were  assigned  to  my  command,  I  secured  a 
tug  from  an  accommodating  Quartermaster,  and  landed  at 
Fortress  Monroe  for  an  interview  with  General  Dix.  The 
General  showed  me  papers  received  that  day  from  Rich 
mond,  in  which  Lee  telegraphed  President  Davis  that  he 
had  gained  a  great  victory  ;  that  the  enemy  was  retreating 
across  the  Rappahannock,  and  so  forth.  "  Can  these  South 
ern  reports  be  true  ? "  I  asked  the  General ;  and  he  replied 
that  he  feared  they  were.  But  at  the  same  time  he  showed 
me  very  different  advices,  from  Washington,  even  cheering 
news,  that  raised  my  spirits,  and  I  returned  to  Norfolk  to 
sail  with  my  command  at  daylight  on  the  morrow. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  May  I  rose  early,  and  was 
soon  on  board  a  propeller,  puffing  away  towards  the  ocean- 
steamer  "  Spaulding,"  on  which  part  of  my  troops  had  em 
barked.  The  whole  division  formed  in  two  brigades,  with 
batteries  of  artillery,  consisted  of  the  142d,  143d,  144th, 
and  127th  New  York  regiments  of  infantry  in  the  first, 
and  the  141st  New  York  and  40th  Massachusetts  regi 
ments  in  the  second  brigade.  An  hour  of  wheezing 
brought  me  alongside,  and  I  climbed  the  unsteady  ladder, 
edged  my  way  through  crowds  of  soldiers,  and  reached  the 
office  of  the  captain.  To  my  inquiry,  "  Are  you  ready  ?  " 
the  mate  replied  that  they  were  awaiting  orders  from  Nor 
folk.  But  the  captain  interfered  with,  "  When  you  are 
ready,  sir."  "  I  am  ready  now,"  I  replied.  Then  the 
anchor  was  raised,  the  wheels  turned,  and  as  we  moved 
out  of  the  harbor  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  General  Dix 
watching  us  from  the  parapet  of  Fortress  Monroe. 


AT  WEST  POINT,  VIRGINIA.  55 


CHAPTER  III. 

AT  WEST  POINT,   VIRGINIA. 

OUE  destination  was  not  revealed  to  us  until  we  had 
reached  the  light-ship,  when  the  captain  was  directed 
to  open  his  sealed  orders.  This  point  in  our  progress 
gained,  we  learned  that  at  Yorktown  further  information 
would  be  received  ;  thereupon  we  steamed  rapidly  up  the 
York  Eiver  to  that  ancient  town  famous  in  two  revolu 
tionary  epochs,  in  one  of  which  it  was  captured  by  Yan 
kees,  then  rebels  to  the  mother  country,  and  in  the  other 
by  their  descendants  now  loyally  engaged  in  suppressing 
rebellion. 

At  Yorktown  a  telegram  was  handed  to  me,  which  read, 
"Go  forward  to  West  Point  as  fast  as  possible."  This,  then, 
was  our  destination  ;  but  the  objects  to  be  gained  by  holding 
that  peninsula  where  the  Pamunkey  and  the  Mattapony 
unite  as  the  York,  were  not  revealed.  I  had  little  time  to 
observe  the  many  fine-looking  farms  that  lined  the  banks, 
or  to  reflect  upon  the  solitude  that  reigned  supreme  in  the 
wooded  covers,  clothed  as  they  were  in  the  beautiful  livery 
of  spring,  before  the  low  landing  at  West  Point  came  in 
sight,  revealing  many  transports  filled  with  troops  lying  off 
the  charred  timbers  of  wharves  destroyed  by  the  Eebels 
during  McClellan's  Peninsula  campaign.  Gunboats,  too, 
were  there,  casting  their  eyes  to  windward,  and  feeling  the 
shore  at  various  places  to  rout  out  any  concealed  foe.  The 
troops  were  speedily  disembarked  on  a  new  wharf  impro- 


56  A  WAR  DIARY. 

vised  from  the  ruins  of  the  old,  with  timbers  from  a  deserted 
house  near  by. 

While  these  things  were  going  on,  I  borrowed  an  orderly's 
horse  and  rode  rapidly  to  the  front  with  cavalry,  to  find  a 
wide  clearing  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  landing, 
traversed  by  the  rail  and  county  road  from  Eichmond,  and 
well  adapted  for  defence.  In  less  than  an  hour,  more  than 
four  thousand  men  were  engaged  in  piling  sleepers  from 
the  railroad,  throwing  up  earth  for  parapets,  and  cutting 
down  trees  for  abatis.  Meanwhile,  the  cavalry  having 
dashed  off  to  burn  the  bridge  at  White  House  over  the  Pa- 
munkey,  if  they  could  get  there,  had  encountered  Eebel 
pickets  whom  they  had  gallantly  engaged.  Hardly  had  the 
smoke  begun  to  rise  above  the  tree-tops  when  an  orderly 

came  galloping  back  for  an  ambulance  for  Lieutenant , 

who  was  mortally  wounded,  he  said,  though  it  turned  out 
that  the  Lieutenant  had  broken  his  neck  by  a  fall  from 
his  horse.  The  men  worked  with  such  energy  upon  the 
intrenchments  that,  though  we  came  ashore  only  at  one 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  our  front  was  well  covered  before 
dark.  General  Dix  came  up,  bringing  with  him  Major  Stew 
art  of  the  Engineers.  They  examined  the  works  with  appro 
bation  ;  then  I  rode  back  to  West  Point  with  the  General, 
took  tea  with  him  on  his  steamer,  and  gave  him  that  morn 
ing's  Eichmond  paper,  taken  from  a  captured  prisoner,  in 
which  Hooker  was  reported  to  be  in  an  impregnable  position 
and  receiving  reinforcements.  Another  captive,  a  negro, 
taken  with  a  wagon-load  of  forage  for  the  Eebel  cavalry, 
brought  the  news  of  the  death  of  Stonewall  Jackson.  This 
had  been  communicated  to  him,  he  said,  by  his  master,  —  a 
doubtful  report,  to  be  sure,  but  especially  gratifying  even 
as  a  rumor,  though  I  had  but  little  time  to  investigate  any 
thing  else  than  the  work  on  our  front ;  and  this  through 
the  whole  night  went  on  so  manfully,  despite  a  pouring 


AT  WEST  POINT,   VIRGINIA.  57 

rain,  that  we  had  by  daylight  completed  more  than  one  third 
of  a  mile  of  intrenchments,  and  made  good  progress  towards 
an  epaulement  for  a  battery.  The  next  thing  to  be  done 
was  to  clear  the  ground  before  us  of  all  obstructions  within 
range ;  and  this  involved  the  destruction  of  negro  huts  and 
stables,  prettily  embowered  though  they  were  amid  peach, 
cherry,  and  apple  trees.  They  had  belonged,  I  was  told,  to  a 
Eebel  drover,  who  fattened  cattle  for  the  Eichmond  market- 
It  was  no  time  for  sentiment,  however ;  so  the  torch  and 
the  axe  were  applied  to  them,  as  also  to  a  long  row  of 
beautiful  firs,  shading  the  road  to  White  House,  until  they 
lay  shapeless  masses  of  green  and  prostrate  trunks  across 
the  road. 

Only  thirty  miles  from  Eichmond,  —  nearer  than  any 
other  land  force !  My  situation  was  an  exposed  one,  re 
quiring  the  most  watchful  and  anxious  care ;  and  the  more 
so  since  the  General  commanding  had  reconsidered  his  de 
termination  to  withdraw  my  command  if  the  enemy  suc 
ceeded  in  driving  Hooker  back  across  the  Eappahannock. 
This  change  in  his  plans  necessitated  not  only  building 
works  for  some  newly  arrived  twenty-pounder  Parrots,  but 
also  strengthening  my  first  hastily  constructed  lines  with 
flanks  and  faces,  laying  out  advanced  works,  and  protect 
ing  the  whole  with  abatis,  as  well  as  establishing  pickets 
well  to  the  front  for  a  distance  of  at  least  two  miles. 

This  military  occupation  and  destruction  of  property 
seemed  to  have  annihilated  all  sense  of  meum  et  tuum  in 
my  troops  ;  they  shot  pigs,  calves,  and  cows,  justifying 
themselves  by  affirming  that  the  pigs  ran  loose  in  the 
woods,  well  knowing  that  the  whole  State  of  Virginia  was 
one  vast  pigpen.  A  dozen  rascals  pass  by  me  leading  a 
cow,  almost  exhausted  by  lunging  and  charging  in  her 
attempts  to  escape  to  the  quiet  of  green  pastures  from  the 
fate  which  awaits  her  from  hungry  men.  Seized  by  a 


58  A  WAR  DIARY. 

stalwart  fellow  by  the  horns,  as  she  made  a  sudden  charge 
at  a  wall  of  soldiers,  and  held  as  in  a  vice,  the  poor  crea 
ture  would  soon  have  been  bereft  of  all  earthly  ties,  had  I 
not  interfered  with  these  excited  hunters  by  first  ordering 
the  animal's  release,  and  then  by  an  inquiry  upon  what 
authority  they  presumed  to  act.  "  I  bought  her,  sir," 
replied  a  half-fledged  youth  in  uniform.  "  Bought  her  ? 
And  of  whom  ? "  —  "  Of  a  fellow  down  here."  "  And  what 
price  did  you  pay  the  '  fellow  down  here '  ? '" —  "  Twenty- 
five  cents,  sir!" 

Another  peculiarity  of  soldiers  is  their  unreasonable  op 
position  to  rail-fences.  They  seem  unable  to  occupy  the 
ground  in  harmony  with  a  fence  !  Where  soldiers  march, 
rails  become  traditions  of  the  past ;  they  disappear  before 
that  form  of  advancing  civilization.  A  poor  negro,  with 
his  wife  and  child,  lived  in  a  wretched  hut  near  the  troops, 
by  cultivating  a  little  patch  which  he  had  protected  with  a 
shaky  fence.  He  was  a  slave,  so  he  said,  and  had  come  from 

Richmond,  "  from  Marse ."  "  The  soldiers  have  taken 

away  your  rails  ? "  I  asked.  "  Yes,  massa ;  but  I  doant 
car  nuffin  'bout  dat,  I  'se  so  glad  to  see  you  'se  all  here.  I 
lets  de  fence  go,  doant  car  nuffin  at  all  'bout  dat ;  and 
when  you  all  leaves  I  '11  take  yer  plank,  and  make  a  new 
one.  I  'se  got  my  lot  planted,  too  ;  but  I  'se  rather  see  you 
all  here  den  have  lot  or  garden !  De  Rebs  sez  you  all 
whipped  'em  lately,  and  dey  spects  to  be  whipped  again ; 
and  I  nebber  heered  'em  say  so  afore,  I  nebber  did." 

Assuring  this  simple  fellow  of  protection  in  the  future, 
I  completed  the  work  of  this  day  in  a  varied  manner,  —  of 
which  I  may  mention  orders  to  commanders  to  get  their 
men  under  arms  at  daylight ;  preparations  to  move  artillery 
to  the  front  in  the  morning ;  pondering  upon  the  signifi 
cance  of  a  report  that  a  corporal  and  four  men  had  been 
fired  on  by  a  party  of  fifteen  Rebel  infantry  on  the  railroad 


AT  WEST  POINT,  VIRGINIA.  59 

track ;  arranging  plans  to  send  a  scout  across  the  river  to 
night  to  bring  me  information  of  a  body  of  Eebel  cavalry 
said  to  be  in  such  position  that  I  might  capture  them ;  and 
giving  a  stranded  naval  officer  the  countersign  to  enable 
him  to  pass  my  pickets  on  the  way  to  his  vessel.  This 
officer  was  on  his  way  back  from  an  inland  expedition  of 
his  own  device,  in  which  he  encountered  a  widow  lady, 
who  "  told  conflicting  stories/'  and  from  whom  therefore, 
with  nautical  ideas  of  reprisals,  he  sequestrated  two  horses, 
towed  them  across  the  river,  as  he  termed  it,  and  now 
turned  them  over  to  me  with  an  avowal  of  his  determina 
tion  to  proceed  thirty  miles  up  the  river  to-morrow  to  stop 
an  inland  Eebel  trade  of  which  he  had  been  apprised. 

Hardly  had  I  arisen  in  the  morning,  when  I  became 
aware  of  one  of  the  effects  of  this  raid.  A  tremulous  little 
boy,  about  nine  years  old,  brought  me  some  letters,  ad 
dressed  to  the  commander  of  the  Federal  forces.  One  of 
these  was  from  a.  woman  who  styled  herself  "a  lone  female;" 
she  begged  for  the  return  of  an  aged  horse  of  twenty 
years,  —  her  sole  dependence,  "  upon  which,  and  upon  no 
other,  she  could  ride."  Another  letter  was  from  a  widow 
with  five  fatherless  children,  asking  for  the  return  of  an 
old  mule  and  two  horses,  her  sole  dependence  for  working 
her  land ;  her  oxen,  and  all  other  animal  power  save  these, 
having  been  taken  from  her  by  the  Confederates.  The 
letters  appealed  to  the  "  commander  of  the  forces,"  on 
grounds  of  sympathy  for  their  wants,  and  asked  that  the 
horrors  of  war  might  be  mitigated  by  humane  action  on 
the  part  of  military  commanders  on  each  side.  And  their 
appeal  was  not  in  vain. 

This  month  of  May,  1863,  was  a  gloomy  one.  Hooker 
had  been  defeated  at  Chancellorsville,  and  our  disappoint 
ment  was  most  bitter.  Secretary  Stanton  telegraphed  the 
public,  through  General  Dix,  that  no  serious  disaster  had 


60  A  WAR  DIARY. 

overtaken  Hooker,  —  as  if  the  return  of  our  shattered  and 
dismayed  columns  to  their  starting-point  was  not  a  disas 
ter  !  The  Secretary  told  us  in  the  public  print  that  Hooker 
did  not  use  more  than  one  third  of  his  force  ;  and  yet,  since 
he  retreated  at  night,  it  seemed  as  if  Mr.  Stan  ton  thought 
it  a  matter  of  congratulation  that  our  troops  came  over 
safe  at  all !  Sedgwick  was  very  badly  used,  and  was  obliged 
to  retreat ;  and  yet  this  was  "  no  disaster  " !  Our  army 
was  disheartened  ;  and  this  was  "  no  disaster  "  !  Every 
organ  of  the  Administration  had  announced,  and  every  sym 
pathizing  politician  had  echoed  for  many  weeks,  "  Hooker 
has  more  men  than  he  wants ! "  and  yet  he  suffered  an 
ignominious  defeat.  It  was  because  Hooker  did  not  use 
his  power  that  the  gallant  Sedgwick  was  compelled  to 
abandon  the  heights  about  Fredericksburg  which  he  had 
so  hardly  won.  Alas  1  Hooker's  defence  was  more  painful 
than  his  defeat.  It  manifests  a  criminal  weakness  in  the 
commander,  who,  when  secure  in  Washington,  underesti 
mated  the  strength  of  the  enemy.  The  army  under  Hooker 
never  had  the  heart  which  the  Administration  claimed  and 
the  press  averred ;  they  hoped  for  the  best,  but  they  feared 
the  worst. 

This  victory  filled  the  souls  of  our  enemies  with  glad 
ness.  The  Eichmond  papers  found  in  it  rich  promise  for 
the  future.  President  Davis,  in  raptures  at  such  unlooked 
for  and  auspicious  results,  congratulated  his  people,  and  in 
vited  them  to  thank  God  for  his  mercies.  Even  the  vener 
able  brigadier,  Ex-Governor  Wise  of  Virginia,  excited  to 
new  effort  under  this  soul-stirring  achievement,  meditated 
an  attack  upon  Major-General  Keyes  at  Yorktown  ;  while, 
to  crown  the  whole  of  this  business,  the  "  New  York  Her 
ald,"  with  significant  audacity,  urged  Daniel  Sickles  as  a 
commander  of  our  army  ! 

The   return  of  my   adjutant-general  with  a  bandaged 


AT  WEST  POINT,  VIRGINIA.  61 

head,  a  bullet  having  struck  him  at  Ohancellorsville,  and 
the  fact  that  he  brought  with  him  our  faithful  staff-dog, 
filled  headquarters  with  unusual  happiness.  Through 
Pope's  unfortunate  march  in  Maryland,  through  the  vic 
torious  onslaught  of  South  Mountain  and  Antietam, 
through  the  cold  winter  of  1862  on  the  Potomac  and  at 
Stafford  Court  House,  this  clog  was  ever  a  loving  friend 
and  companion  ;  and  she  cheered  and  relieved  more  gloomy 
hours  than  could  have  many  a  so-called  nobler  animal. 
Nestling  in  my  lap,  or  sleeping  upon  my  bed  as  of  old,  for 
getting  neither  friend  nor  foe  during  her  absence,  she 
showed  human  attributes  in  snarling  at  a  servant  who  had 
saved  her  life  at  Stafford  Court  House,  by  forcing  her  to 
take  a  dose  of  castor  oil. 

More  captives  presented  themselves  at  this  time ;  and 
among  them  three  whom  I  discovered  very  early  in  the 
morning  at  my  door,  blindfolded  and  guarded  by  cavalry. 
One  of  these  men,  a  spy  in  our  service,  just  from  Rich- 
mond,  where  he  had  been  nine  months  (so  he  told  me 
in  a  private  interview  which  I  granted  at  his  request), 
described  his  comrades  as  a  Kebel  soldier  and  a  blockade- 
runner  ;  and  intimated  that  upon  a  close  examination  of 
the  latter  I  might  be  rewarded  by  evidence  of  his  travel 
ling  to  and  fro  between  both  armies.  He  told  me  that 
the  Rebels  were  jubilant  over  their  victory  at  Chancellors- 
ville,  and  sad  at  the  death  of  Stonewall  Jackson ;  that  a 
portion  of  D.  H.  Hill's  command  passed  through  Eich- 
mond  from  Petersburgh  to  strengthen  Lee,  and  that  the 
whole  Eebel  army  was  abundantly  supplied  with  food, 
clothing,  and  iron  for  their  railways ;  that  though  they 
had  heard  of  Grant's  capture  of  Jackson  in  Mississippi, 
and  expected  to  lose  Vicksburg,  they  were  confident  of 
victory  at  last ;  that  in  the  battle  with  Hooker  they  had 
one  hundred  thousand  men.  All  this  the  spy  rattled  off 


62  A  WAR  DIARY. 

to  me  with  such  an  air  of  infallibility  that  I  diverted  him 
to  the  subject  of  my  own  immediate  front,  and  learned  that 
five  or  six  companies  of  Rebel  cavalry  were  encamped  at 
Tunstall's  Station,  two  of  infantry  at  White  House  Bridge, 
three  more  of  cavalry  extending  across  the  Peninsula  and 
on  the  railroad  at  Lanesville  and  Indian  Town,  and  that 
their  pickets  were  to  be  moved  nearer  mine,  even  to  West 
Point  Church.  I  was  also  told  by  the  spy  of  a  plan  to  sur 
prise  me  here,  and  that  for  this  purpose  an  effort  would  be 
made  to  cross  the  river  and  enter  my  lines  that  night. 

The  blockade-runner's  turn  came  next.  He  had  been 
shut  up  in  Richmond  a  weary  while,  he  said  but  was  for 
tunate  enough  to  escape  unobserved.  All  that  he  told  about 
military  dispositions  corroborated  the  spy's  story ;  and  this 
was  not  strange,  as  the  two  had  travelled  together,  and 
would  have  told  a  single  tale.  To  see,  then,  how  far  the 
spy's  revelations  were  true,  a  search  of  the  blockade-run 
ner's  person  was  ordered.  Two  large  rolls  of  money  (one 
in  greenbacks,  and  one  in  Confederate  bills),  two  gold 
watches,  one  heavy  gold  chain,  an  account  book,  one  to 
bacco  box,  a  pipe,  a  knife,  and  other  trifles  were  brought  to 
light ;  but  no  papers  of  any  importance  were  found,  until  a 
further  and  more  careful  search  in  coat  sleeves  and  linings 
revealed  a  large  number  of  letters  written  by  Rebels  in 
the  South  to  those  of  like  complexion  in  Northern  States, 
from  whom  replies  were  expected  to  be  delivered  through 
the  same  channel.  It  was  either  a  piece  of  great  imperti 
nence,  or  an  unjustifiable  reliance  upon  the  stupidity  of 
Union  troops,  for  this  man  to  come  voluntarily  within  my 
lines,  bearing  upon  his  person  such  evidence  of  his  guilt ; 
but  however  that  may  have  been,  I  fear  that  the  writers 
of  these  letters  were  justified  in  complaining  of  the  slow 
ness  of  the  mails.  Some  of  the  letters  were  addressed 
to  Southern  prisoners  at  the  North  ;  and  they  were  guard- 


AT  WEST  POINT,  VIRGINIA.  63 

edly  expres  d  for  the  reason  given  within  them,  that "  the 
horrid  Yank  ;  publish  captured  correspondence ; "  but 
they  ventured  nevertheless  to  beg  their  friends  not  to  take 
"  the  horrid  oath  of  allegiance."  Other  writers  gave  free 
swing  to  rejoicing  over  the  victory  at  Chancellorsville ; 
and  though  they  mourned  the  death  of  Stonewall  Jackson, 
they  expres  confidence  in  Lee  and  in  his  ultimate  suc 
cess.  One  letter  contained  a  slip  cut  from  a  Rebel  paper, 
in  which  there  were  lamentations  over  the  condition  of 
things  in  Richmond :  almost  all  the  houses  were  boarding- 
houses  ;  there  was  no  pleasant  social  life,  and  there  was 
no  privacy. 

The  spy,  having  proved  his  innocence,  was  permitted 
with  the  third  member  of  the  party,  a  soldier  from  the 
Rebel  army,  to  go  without  restraint;  while  the  very  in 
nocent  blockade-runner,  despite  a  plea  of  unintentional 
wrong-doing,  was  dismissed  to  a  cell  at  Fortress  Monroe. 
Every  day  now  furnished  new  evidence  that  I  had  been 
correctly  informed  of  contemplated  movements  by  the 
enemy  on  this  Peninsula.  Scouts,  sentinels,  and  patrols 
agreed  tl»t  there  were  unusual  signs  of  activity  around  us. 
Patrols  were  fired  it,  sentinels  saw  men  flitting  about,  and 
heard  sounds  s.of  chopping  in  the  distance;  while  one 
Robinson,  a  farmer  over  the  river,  harbored  a  disguised 
Rebel  officer,  who,  after  daily  observing  my  works  with 
a  glass,  informed  a  person,  who  communicated  it  to  my 
scouts,  that  I  had  but  about  five  thousand  men,  and  was 
throwing  up  works  across  the  Peninsula.  General  Keyes 
at  Yorktown  felt  that  something  was  brewing.  He  was 
threatened  by  the  venerable  Wise ;  and  wished  me,  in  case 
I  heard  firing  in  that  direction,  to  make  a  feint,  as  if  to 
cross  the  York  at  Brick  House  Point  (where  Franklin 
landed  and  made  his  demonstration  to  aid  McClellan),  and 
attack  in  flank. 


64  A  WAR  DIARY. 

To  a  resident  of  this  place  for  the  last  ninle  years,  —  a 
Mr.  New,  at  whose  house  I  made  my  headquarters,  —  the 
condition  of  things  in  Richmond,  as  he  observed  them 
some  three  or  four  weeks  previous,  appeared  rjiore  hopeful 
than  would  be  gathered  from  other  sources.)  From  in 
formation  derived  from  a  dealer  in  pork  and1  bacon,  this 
man  learned  that  with  ordinary  caution  the  supply  of 
bacon  in  Richmond  would  last  the  Confederate  army  two 
years ;  that  bacon  and  flour  were  coming  in  fast ;  and  that 
prices  for  these  articles  had  fallen  very  much.  "Indeed," 
said  my  informant,  "there  are  men  who  have  at  this 
time  three  crops  of  wheat  on  hand.  And  yet,"  he  con 
tinued,  as  if  suddenly  reflecting  that  under  the*  circum 
stances  it  might  be  as  well  to  throw  a  sop  to  me,  "  I  think 
I  saw  in  Richmond  evidence  that  the  feeling  of  hostility 
against  the  North  is  softening;  that  Northern  men  are 
much  more  respected  than  formerly; "  and  he  was  disposed 
to  agree  with  a  Mr.  Jones,  a  member  of  the  Rebel  Congress, 
that  "  this  difficulty  would  soon  be  settled."  Poor  man  I 
he  had  thought  much  on  this  subject,  for  he  had  seen  three 
different  armies  pass  his  door,  carrying  with  them  the 
devastation  which  armies  always  carry  in  their  train.  The 
first  came  from  Richmond  to  West  Point  by  rail,  going 
thence  in  transports  to  Yorktown,  —  fifty  thousand  men, 
he  estimated,  coming  some  days  in  two  trains  of  never  less 
than  fifteen  loaded  cars,  and  being  altogether  four  weeks  in 
passing  his  house.  With  sad  memories  of  his  losses,  and 
painful  reflections  upon  what  my  presence  might  bring  to 
him,  he  watched  every  detail  of  our  occupation  with  a 
dreary  and  foreboding  look.  The  helpless  gaze  he  fastened 
upon  every  fugitive  who  came  to  me  to  be  freed  from  the 
masters  with  whom  he  was  in  the  closest  sympathy,  told 
only  too  strongly  how  bitter  was  the  cup  the  slave-master 
had  filled.  Yet  daily  did  I  experience  the  absolute  neces- 


AT  WEST  POINT,  VIRGINIA.  65 

sity,  as  -a  n^asure  of  military  precaution  and  success,  of 
using  these  slaves  for  our  good.  Far  and  wide  did  I  send 
for  them  to  come  in ;  and  I  had  so  utilized  an  old  Eebel 
earthwork  near  the  landing,  built  originally  to  cover  the 
enemy  from  our  gunboats,  that  it  enabled  the  poor  negroes 
to  cross  the  river  in  safety.  Two  of  them  who  came  over 
I  allowed,  at  their  earnest  solicitation,  to  return  the  next 
day  for  their  wives  and  children  ;  and  they  did  not  deceive 
me.  They  told  me  about  their  travels  by  night  and  con 
cealment  by  day,  until  they  approached  the  old  cabins 
where  anxious  hearts  awaited  them ;  about  the  adventures 
attending  their  return,  during  which  they  overheard  both 
a  plan  to*  surprise  my  post,  and  an  astonishingly  accurate 
estimate  of  my  numbers.  They  also  gave  me  information 
by  means  of  which  I  subsequently  destroyed  six  hundred 
bushels  of  the  enemy's  wheat  and  corn,  and  captured  five 
of  hi$  valuable  horses.  That  we  could  place  the  most  im 
plicit  reliance  upon  their  faithfulness  was  over  and  over 
again  confirmed  by  deeds  of  daring.  One  night,  one  of 
my  colored  scouts  returned  from  a  tour  which  had  taken 
him  thirteen  miles  into  a  country  filled  with  strong  Eebel 
picket  stations.  But  it  was  not  enough,  he  thought,  to  re 
port  to  me  that  fact ;  he  felt  impelled  to  know  more ;  and 
so,  under  cover  of  the  darkness  and  the  forest,  he  crept  up 
to  the  camps  of  guards,  and  counted  sixteen  men  in  each. 

The  effect  of  messages  to  the  colored  people  to  come 
within  our  lines  began  to  be  more  and  more  apparent  in 
the  numbers  of  men,  women,  and  children,  with  all  sorts 
of  baggage  that  continued  to  crowd  upon  us.  The  men 
found  work  in  the  quartermaster's  department  at  eight  dol 
lars  a  month  and  one  ration,  while  the  women  were  em 
ployed  on  wages  in  washing  and  in  cooking.  As  a  natural 
consequence,  the  old  masters  and  mistresses  were  much 
alarmed  at  the  flight  of  chattels  for  the  Jordan  across  which 

6 


66  A   WAR   DIARY. 

lay  the  promised  land  of  freedom,  and  were  resorting  to  every 
expedient  to  put  off  the  final  hour  when  they  would  have  to 
depend  solely  on  their  own  resources,  or  starve.  From  dark 
ness  to  light,  from  slavery  to  freedom,  with  th  sir  "  chillun" 
and  without  them,  the  flight  went  on,  until  it  seemed  as 
if  the  whole  surrounding  country  must  be  stripped  of 
slaves.  From  her  master's  kitchen  to  mine  was  but  a 
change  of  a  few  miles  in  space ;  but  what  an  immeasurable 
alteration  in  the  condition  of  poor  Betty,  who  came  to  me 
one  day  with  three  or  four  women  and  a  crowd  of  picka 
ninnies  !  Alas  for  Betty !  not  one  of  these  was  her  own ; 
for  her  master,  doubting  her  loyalty,  forged  stronger  bonds 
than  manacles  for  her  limbs  in  shutting  out  her  three 
children  from  all  possibility  of  escape.  But  love  of  liberty 
sent  the  slave-mother  to  the  river  bank,  where  the  nutter 
of  a  white  rag  summoned  loyal  men,  by  whom  she  was 
borne  within  my  lines,  still  hopeful  of  regaining  her  off 
spring.  At  breakfast  Betty  was  jubilant  over  her  newly- 
gained  liberty,  and  I  fain  would  whisper  that  I  trust 
she  found  more  enjoyable  than  I  did  the  chip-like  toast, 
the  thin,  cold,  tough  steak,  the  burnt  potatoes  which 
she  denominated  breakfast,  though  she  seasoned  it  with 
amusing  pictures  of  the  chagrin  of  her  master  (who  mar 
ried  her  mistress,  "  and  dat  is  de  way  he  cum  by  us  :  he 
nebber  dun  owned  no  niggers,")  when  he  discovered  that 
his  chattels  had  fled.  "  De  men,  dey  dun  gone  long  ago  ; 
we  women  hab  to  do  all  de  work.  Marser  laid  out  a  big 
farm  dis  year  of  corn,  cotton,  wheat,  and  cane ;  de  women 
dey  hab  to  plough,  and  work  in  de  house,  and  do  ebery 
ting.  And  now  he  han't  got  no  one,  I  dunno  wat  he'll  do. 
Dere's  my  boy !  ain't  more'n  so  high  [about  three  feet] , 
he  makes  him  fly ;  takes  great  stick  like  cart-stick  and 
bangs  him.  He  shot  a  nigger  dead  de  odder  day ;  he  fired, 
nigger  nebber  kicked  'gain.  I  spec  he  gits  poor  white  folks 


AT  WEST  POINT,  VIRGINIA.  67 

now ;  dey  tole  us  we  was  fools  to  stay  dere.  A  mean 
white  man  is  my  marser :  we  'joice  very  much  ober  you 
alls  comin'."  Fortunately  for  my  health,  Betty  failed  on 
dinner,  and  caused  us  to  fall  back  on  a  negress,  the  wife 
of  a  slave  from  the  so-called  "  Ben  Anderson  place,"  a 
mile  or  two  down  the  York. 

And  still  they  came  and  "'joiced,"  though  they  left 
mourners  in  the  old  home  who  would  not  be  comforted. 
There  was  no  help  for  it,  and  slave-masters  began  to  en 
dure  the  humiliation  of  begging  for  the  return  of  their 
slaves.  On  the  26th  of  May,  I  received  a  first  appeal :  it 

came  by  letter  from  a  Mr.  G of  King  William  County, 

and  was  addressed  to  me  as  the  General  commanding  the 
post  at  West  Point,  "  through  the  request  of  the  old  lady, 
the  bearer,"  and  appealed  to  me  "  for  the  sake  of  humanity 
to  grant  her  request."  The  writer  then  went  on  to  say : 

"  On  the  night  of  the  nineteenth  instant,  five  of  my  servants 
left  me  for  West  Point  without  any  cause  whatever.  Amos,  a 
man  whom  I  have  been  hiring  for  several  years  for  the  purpose 
of  his  being  with  his  family  ;  when  he  left  he  carried  with  him 
two  of  his  children,  a  boy  by  the  name  of  Amos,  sometimes 
called  Dee,  and  a  girl  named  Milly,  —  both  of  which  I  raised 
and  am  exceedingly  attached  to  them,  and  my  wife  is  equally 
as  much,  or  more  so.  Therefore,  sir,  I  most  respectfully  request 
you  to  return  them  to  me,  and  also  in  behalf  of  their  distressed 
mother  do  I  also  make  the  request.  She  is  left  by  her  husband 
Amos  with  four  other  small  children.  Another  woman  left  me, 
by  the  name  of  Henny,  and  left  two  small  children,  one  an 
infant  at  the  breast,  and  it  would  make  your  heart  bleed  to  see 
how  the  little  child  misses  its  mother ;  it  is  crying  night  and 
day,  as  its  grandmother  will  tell  you.  Her  business  is  to  see 
you  and  ask  you  to  return  her  child  to  her.  The  name  of  the 
other  woman  is  Hannah  ;  she  left  no  child.  Now,  sir,  I  hope  you 
will  not  think  that  I  am  asking  the  return  of  the  above  ser 
vants  for  the  sake  of  profit.  Indeed  it  is  not  so,  the  reasons  are 


68  A  WAR  DIARY. 

these  :  first,  my  attachment  for  them,  —  they  are  a  part  of  my 
family  ;  and  secondly  my  deplorable  situation,  which  I  will  state. 
You  will  observe  that  I  have  six  small  children  left,  and  have 
four  small  ones  of  my  own,  making  ten  in  all ;  and  I  have  only 
one  servant  left  to  aid  me  in  supporting  them.  To  be  sure  I  have 
another,  but  he  is,  I  may  say,  an  invalid,  having  an  afflicted  leg 
and  hand,  and  I  am  an  infirm  man,  and  am  at  a  loss  to  know 
how  I  am  to  make  a  support  for  them.  These  are  the  reasons, 
which  I  am  sure  you  will  conclude  are  good  ones." 

To  this  sorrowful  appeal  I  replied  that  I  had  received  at 
one  of  my  outposts  this  morning  his  letter  of  the  twenty- 
sixth,  asking  for  the  return  of  five  of  his  servants  who  left 
him  on  the  night  of  the  nineteenth  instant,  and,  as  he 
alleged,  without  any  cause  whatever ;  among  them  a  man, 
Amos,  whom  he  had  been  hiring  for  several  years  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  him  with  his  family,  and  two  of 
his  children,  a  boy  and  girl,  both  of  whom  he  raised.  My 
letter  then  continued  as  follows :  — 

"  In  desiring  their  return,  you  give  as  your  reasons  that  you 
and  your  wife,  having  raised  them,  are  exceedingly  attached  to 
them  ;  also  that  their  distressed  mother  has  been  left  by  her  hus 
band,  Amos,  with  four  other  small  children.  And  you  further 
state  that  another  woman,  named  Henny,  fled  from  your  service, 
leaving  two  small  children,  —  one  an  infant  at  the  breast,  whose 
distressing  cries  for  its  mother,  you  allege,  would  make  my  heart 
bleed.  And  there  is  still  another  fugitive,  Hannah.  You  fur 
ther  allege  that  you  do  not  ask  the  return  of  these  servants  for 
profit,  but  because,  first,  you  are  exceedingly  attached  to  them, 
they  being  part  of  your  family  ;  and,  second,  your  deplorable  sit 
uation,  having  the  six  colored  children  left,  and  four  small  ones 
of  your  own,  making  ten  in  all.  And  still  further,  that  you  have 
but  one  servant  left  —  except  an  afflicted  one  who  is  not  of  much 
service  —  to  aid  you  in  supporting  them.  For  these  reasons, 
which  you  conclude  I  shall  think  good  ones,  you  wish  me  to 
return  the  colored  people  that  have  sought  refuge  here. 

"  Your  servants,  by  escaping  within  my  lines,  are  forever  free. 


AT  WEST  POINT,  VIRGINIA.  69 

I  have  no  right,  even  had  I  the  inclination,  to  remand  them 
again  to  a  condition  of  slavery.  This,  though  conclusive  as  to 
the  course  to  be  pursued,  does  not  meet  the  reasons  you  give 
why  they  should  be  returned  ;  therefore  I  give  a  moment's  atten 
tion  to  these.  Your  own  and  your  wife's  attachment  to  your 
servants,  you  offer  as  a  reason  why  I  should  return  them.  But, 
sir,  this  attachment  does  not  seem  to  be  mutual.  Your  servants 
have  fled  from  your  fond  care ;  your  affection  is  unrequited  ;  and 
your  solace  will  certainly  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  poor 
negro  has  not  only  an  aversion  to  remaining  with  your  family, 
but  that,  in  the  case  of  mother  and  children,  it  was  strong  enough 
to  tear  a  mother's  love  from  her  nursing  babe.  Upon  what  prin 
ciple  of  humanity  should  I  take  part  in  continuing  a  relation  of 
such  aversion  to  the  free  colored  people  that  were  your  slaves  ? 

"  Again.  Your  distressed  situation  you  offer  as  a  reason  why  I 
should  return  these  free  colored  people  to  you.  Sympathizing 
with  you  in  your  distress  as  every  human  being  should,  you 
will  be  consoled  by  the  knowledge  thus  brought  home  to  you 
that  the  accursed  institution  of  slavery  is  almost  swept  from 
your  hearthstone  j  that  the  day  is  dawning  when  neither  mother 
nor  child  will  have  to  outrage  Nature's  laws  to  breathe  the  air 
of  liberty ;  and  it  will  gladden  your  heart  to  know  that  wherever 
our  star-spangled  banner  waves,  freedom  follows.  While  pray 
ing  for  pardon  for  the  sins  of  your  people  in  causing  this  atro 
cious  rebellion  against  a  just  Government,  you  will  yet  have  the 
proud  consciousness  of  knowing  that  you  have  been  an  agent  in 
freeing  the  oppressed  in  our  land ;  and  thus  it  may  happen  that 
that  sin,  which  is  as  scarlet,  may  be  washed  whiter  than  snow." 

To  have  heeded  this  appeal,  and  delivered  the  fugitives, 
would  have  been  to  deny  the  privileges  I  had  offered,  and 
to  doom  the  hopeless  slave  to  a  harder  fate  than  before. 
It  was  not  to  be  thought  of  for  a  moment  that  I  should  be 
blinded  by  this  pretence  of  humanity  to  the  real  claim  for 
property  which  underlay  these  maudlin  demonstrations. 
Dee,  a  bright  little  fellow,  found  a  home  with  Captain 
Washburn,  of  the  Fourth  Cavalry,  as  his  servant ;  and  so 


70  A  WAR  DIARY. 

well  contented  was  he,  that  when  I  told  him  how  desolate 
he  had  made  his  master's  home,  and  how  deep  was  the 
affection  his  master  had  expressed  for  him,  the  unfeeling 
little  rascal  had  no  regret  for  his  conduct,  no  desire  to 
return. 

Quickly  following  upon  the  heels  of  this,  came  another 
exodus  of  negroes,  singly  and  in  families,  white,  black,  and 
blue,  with  all  their  children  and  with  their  household 
goods,  in  all  sorts  of  trunks,  parcels,  and  boxes.  I  was 
on  my  way  to  the  front  to  direct  additional  precautions 
for  the  safety  of  advance  guards,  when  I  encountered  this 
motley  crowd,  shouting  with  joy  at  their  deliverance.  No 
manifestations  of  regret  did  they  utter,  no  solicitude  did 
they  express ;  but  with  a  perfect  trust,  mothers  and  chil 
dren  laid  down  their  weary  loads,  and  waited  to  begin  the 
,  new  life  of  freedom.  One  mother  had  four  children  with 
her,  another  two,  and  so  on ;  whitish  children  with  light 
hair  and  blue  eyes,  and  children  black  as  night.  The  next 
day  they  went  down  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  thence  wher 
ever  they  pleased. 

An  unwilling  witness  of  these  scenes  was  my  landlord, 
by  coercion,  who  seemed  dazed  at  what  was  going  on. 
He  saw  more  than  a  hundred  slaves  set  free  after  my 
arrival,  and  all  of  them  the  property  of  his  neighbors,  — 
negroes  whom  he  had  known  in  what  he  was  pleased 
to  term  the  heyday  of  their  happiness ;  and  valuable 
negroes  too,  some  of  them,  he  said,  particularizing  one  for 
whom  he  knew  his  master  had  been  recently  offered  fif 
teen  hundred  dollars.  This  poor  inn-keeper!  He  had 
once  been  a  rich  man,  but  the  war  had  made  a  change, 
and  I  used  to  see  him  struggling  with  his  unweeded  gar 
den,  feeding  his  remaining  hog,  or  ploughing  with  his  lean 
horse,  master  of  nothing,  ruled  by  Yankees,  hopeless  and 
despondent.  "  What  are  you  thinking  of  ?  "  I  asked  him 


AT  WEST   POINT,  VIRGINIA.  71 

one  evening  as  he  was  brooding  over  his  desolation ;  and 
he  replied,  "  I  'm  almost  crazy,  sir !  the  savings  of  years  I 
have  lost.  I  try  to  work,  but  I  have  no  heart  in  it,  even 
to  save  the  little  that 's  left ;  it 's  no  use.  I  can  only  think, 
think,  THINK.  I  can  recall  the  time/'  he  continued,  "  when 
the  originators  of  this  war  came  to  my  house  to  plead  with 
me  for  secession,  saying,  '  You  are  a  public  man  ;  we  want 
your  views.'  And  I  remember  that  I  refused  to  consider 
the  subject ;  I  told  them  that  I  had  no  views  to  give,  but 
that  I  would  say  that  if  they  took  Virginia  out  of  the  Union, 
they  would  see  the  day  of  ruin ;  that  in  the  Union  there 
was  strength.  After  that  I  was  suspected  of  lukewarm- 
ness,  and  sometimes  accused  even  of  sympathizing  with 
the  North.  What  could  I  do  ? "  Then,  looking  uneasily 
around  and  heaving  a  weary  sigh,  he  added  appealingly, 
"  What  can  I  do  now  ? "  All  the  comfort  I  could  offer  was 
freely  bestowed  in  assurances  of  ample  protection  in  the 
present,  and  all  that  it  would  be  possible  for  me  to  give  in 
the  future ;  and  in  suggesting  that  he  might  find  encour 
agement  by  looking  upon  this  change  as  the  work  of  God. 
As  I  invited  his  attention  to  this  consolation  for  the  loss 
of  his  temporal  investments,  he  raised  his  eyes,  and  re 
marked  with  a  ghastly  smile,  "That 's  what  my  wife  says 
when  she  sees  hundreds  of  slaves  coming  within  your 
lines  to  be  freed;  but,"  —  with  solemn  earnestness, — 
"some  doubt  it." 

An  incident  that  occurred  at  this  time  showed  what  folly 
it  would  be  to  discourage  the  negroes  from  escaping  to  our 
lines,  and  thereby  reject  their  sometimes  valuable  assist 
ance.  Colonel  Burr  Porter,  of  the  Fortieth  Massachusetts 
Eegiment,  had  sent  a  negro  scout  to  the  front,  where  he 
was  making  his  way  along  a  thickly  wooded  road,  intent 
on  avoiding  everybody,  when  he  came  so  suddenly  upon  a 
Dr.  Pilchards,  —  a  notorious  Eebel,  —  that  his  only  mode 


72  A  WAR  DIARY. 

of  escape  was  by  his  heels.  Suspecting  the  darkey's  move 
ments,  the  doctor  called  to  him  to  stop,  firing  his  pistol  at 
him  at  the  same  time  to  enforce  his  order.  Fortunately 
the  scout,  who  was  not  hit,  fled  all  the  faster,  until  lie 
gained  a  thicket,  into  which  he  plunged,  running  and 
scrambling  until,  breathless  and  exhausted,  he  fell  sud 
denly  into  the  hands  of  a  squad  of  Rebel  infantry.  Es 
cape  now  was  hopeless ;  his  only  resource  was  in  his  wits. 
Gasping  for  breath,  he  utilized  his  first  pursuer  most  effect 
ually  by  crying  out,  "  Don't  stop  me !  Dr.  Richards  sent 
me  to  tell  you  that  the  Yankees  are  coining  on  your  flank, 
with  a  large  column  of  men ;  and  he  wants  me,  after  tell 
ing  you  this,  to  go  down  on  your  other  flank,  and  tell 
some  more  of  your  pickets  there  to  look  out."  The  other 
flank  was  in  the  direction  of  our  front,  where  he  would  be 
safe  if  those  who  held  him  only  believed  he  was  telling 
the  truth.  Fortunately  the  message  he  bore  was  an  urgent 
one ;  the  occasion  did  not  admit  of  prolonged  discussion, 
though  it  was  long  enough  to  make  the  poor  fellow's  heart 
throb  with  apprehension.  For  a  few  moments  the  scout's 
fate  trembled  in  the  balance.  So  well,  however,  did  he 
conceal  the  struggle  within  himself,  that  when  he  was 
bidden  to  go  ahead  and  give  his  message,  he  could  detect 
no  doubts  within  his  captors.  But  joy  so  overcame  the 
man  at  his  unexpected  good  fortune,  that  when  he  sprang 
forward,  he  did  so  with  an  alertness  that  for  the  first  time 
roused  suspicions  in  a  Rebel  sergeant  that  all  was  not 
right ;  and  he  called  to  him  to  stop.  There  was  but  one 
hope  now,  and  that  was  flight.  The  scout  acted  so  energet 
ically  upon  this  conviction  that  he  escaped  unhurt,  though 
a  bullet  passed  through  his  hat ;  and  he  brought  to  us  the 
information  that  a  regiment  of  Rebel  infantry  last  night 
crossed  the  Mattapony  to  the  peninsula,  and  was  now 
within  seven  miles  of  my  outposts.  I  thought  this  poor 


AT  WEST  POINT,  VIRGINIA.  73 

negro  had  proved  his  right  to  possess  the  freedom  to  use 
for  his  own  advancement  those  talents  and  faculties  which 
he  had  made  so  serviceable  to  us. 

The  29th  of  May  increased  my  stock  of  negroes  by 
fourteen,  —  old  and  young,  crippled  and  able-bodied,  —  all 
of  whom  had  escaped  from  the  clutches  of  slave-masters. 
From  them  all  I  secured  much  valuable  information.  One 
facetious  old  woman  lamented  the  loss  of  flour,  corn-meal, 
and  meat,  which  she  had  been  obliged  to  leave  behind ;  she 
feared  they  might  fall  into  Eebel  hands,  and  thus  make 
them  a  little  less  hungry.  She  asked  that  my  troops  and 
gunboats  might  make  a  special  trip  to  her  domain  to  bring 
away  her  edibles,  —  urging  as  a  bait  that  I  might  capture 
some  Eebel  pickets  who  were  lying  in  wait  to  catch  me. 
Eepresenting  the  Eebel  pickets  as  quite  vigilant,  though 
entertaining  a  wholesome  dread  of  gunboats,  she  thought 
she  could  so  direct  the  fire  of  our  guns  "  dat  some  of  dose  big 
shells  '11  hit  'em,  —  dough  dey  say  if  you'se  all  cum  up  dey 
gwine  to  climb  trees  to  'vade  your  boat.  I  knows  dey  will 
clar  if  you  fire  at  'em.  And,  oh  lordy,  won't  dey  run  and 
sweep  away  all  de  black  folks  to  Eichmond !  Took  my  son 
dis  morning.  'Cum  up !'  dey  say  to  him; '  you  har  ?  go  long! 
won't  hab  you  telling  Yankees  eb'ryting.' "  My  stock  01 
females  has  so  largely  increased,  that  I  fear  very  much  for 
the  peace  of  mind  of  Old  Bob,  —  Captain  Scott's  servant,  a 
venerable  darkey  of  more  years  than  he  knows,  who,  when 
asked  if  he  was  a  hundred,  replied,  "'Spec's  I  am,  sir." 
While  the  captain  was  at  Washington  recovering  from  his 
Chancellorsville  wound,  Old  Bob  became  infatuated  with 
a  fair  darkey  there,  though  he  felt  himself  sought  after  by 
many  of  whom  he  did  not  become  enamored.  He  said  to 
the  captain,  "  I  'fraid  some  dose  darkeys  make  me  marry 
'em."  But  Bob  escaped,  and  recalled  "  de  lub  "  of  a  former 
charmer,  to  whom,  though  she  would  n't  "  put  her  name  on 


74  A  WAR  DIARY. 

de  paper  [a  contract  of  marriage]  wen  I  was  dar,  dough  I 
did  it,"  he  caused  a  letter  to  be  written.  This  he  brought 
to  the  captain  with  the  request,  "Back  dat,  sir,  ef  you 
please  "  [direct  it]. 

"  To  whom  ? "  asked  the  captain. 

"  Well,"  —  in  some  confusion,  —  "  put  my  name  on  it." 

"  But  that  won't  reach  any  one  !  To  whom  do  you  wish 
to  send  it  ? " 

"Wy,  toEm'ly!" 

"  Emily  who  ? " 

"I  dunno,  sir!" 

"  Where  is  she  ? " 

"  Wy,  dar  in  Washington  ! " 

"Where's' dar'?" 

"Wy,  Sandy  Bill;  he  know!"  So  the  letter  went  to 

"Emily,  care  of  Sandy  Bill,  care  of  Mr.  J.  W.  E , 

Washington,"  —  the  latter  being  the  name  of  an  officer 
whom  Bob  had  attended  during  the  captain's  recovery. 

A  cavalry  command  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
crossed  the  river,  and  came  within  my  lines  on  the  twenty- 
ninth.  With  but  four  hundred  men,  Kilpatrick  had  made, 
so  he  informed  me,  a  successful  raid  around  Richmond, 
tearing  up  the  railroads  that  lead  to  Louisa  Court  House, 
burning  bridges  over  the  Pamunkey  River,  and  destroying, 
in  five  Government  stores  bacon  and  corn  of  great  value. 

O 

Among  other  deeds  which  he  performed,  was  the  capture 
of  a  railroad  train ;  the  steam- whistle  was  lashed  down, 
that  it  might  sing  its  own  requiem,  and  then  it  was  sent 
under  a  full  head  of  steam  towards  a  burning  bridge,  through 
which  it  plunged  into  the  river  below,  and  found  a  watery 
grave.  We  heard  him,  too,  tell  of  his  alleged  entry  within 
the  fortified  lines  of  Richmond,  and  his  claim  that  he  could 
have  entered  the  city  itself  without  much  difficulty ;  and 
that  he  would  have  done  so,  had  he  only  had  one  brigade  of 


AT  WEST  POINT,   VIRGINIA.  75 

troops.  Mistaken  for  Eebel  cavalry  near  Eichmond,  he  saw 
some  pretty  girls  reaching  out  of  windows  in  houses  near 
the  roadside  to  kiss  their  hands,  and  wave  their  perfumed 
handkerchiefs  at  the  troops.  As  "  I  guess  you  make  a  mis 
take  "  greeted  them  from  our  ranks,  their  faces  lengthened ; 
and  when  the  cry,  "  We  are  Yankees,"  followed,  mouths 
were  compressed,  windows  closed,  and  blinds  slammed,  — 
though  not  quick  enough  to  shut  out  peals  of  laughter  from 
one  young  damsel,  whose  keen  sense  of  the  ludicrous  was 
awakened  by  such  salutations  from  fair  Southern  women 
to  Yankee  cavalry  on  a  raid  within  the  confines  of  the 
city  of  Richmond. 

Within  a  mile  or  two  of  that  city,  a  wag  on  the  staff 
made  a  requisition  on  the  principal  Eebel  commissary  in 
Eichmond  for  bacon,  and  sent  it  to  him  by  a  colored  man 
passing  that  way.  Without  waiting  for  a  reply,  the  col 
umn  went  on,  and  soon  encountered  four  or  five  loads  of 
bacon,  which  the  facetious  raiders  assumed  had  been  sent 
to  fill  the  demand ;  and  they  destroyed  what  was  left  after 
taking  as  much  as  they  could  carry.  A  Eebel  officer 
came  next,  quietly  jogging  along,  his  mind  at  ease  and 
his  thoughts  on  anything  but  Yankees,  and  was  suddenly 
pounced  upon  within  the  lines  of  the  fortification  of  Eich- 
rnond.  Astonished  at  the  temerity  of  his  captors,  the 
prisoner  informed  them  that  their  own  capture  was  but  a 
question  of  a  few  hours.  The  colonel  having  no  guides, 
followed  his  maps,  which  proved  to  be  very  accurate. 
To  secure  his  retreat  he  burned  bridges  behind  him,  and 
whenever  he  came  to  a  railroad  he  destroyed  miles  of  it  in 
each  direction.  He  made  no  fires,  posted  no  pickets  save 
blind  ones  (men  concealed  in  the  brush,  who,  allowing  the 
enemy  to  pass,  follow  after  and  gobble  them  up),  —  thus 
giving  no  clew  to  his  position.  When  near  the  Chicka- 
hominy  bridge,  over  which  the  raiders  passed  to  reach  the 


76  A  WAR  DIARY. 

left  bank  of  the  Mattapony,  a  fine  specimen  of  the  "  don't 
know  anything  "  rabid  Secessionist  was  caught.  It  was 
an  old  woman,  of  whom  the  colonel  asked,  "  Can  you  tell 
me,  my  good  woman,  where  I  will  find  the  bridge  which 
crosses  the  Chickahominy  ? "  It  was  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  old  woman's  house. 

"  No,  I  dun'no  nothing  about  any  bridges." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  that  there  were  any  bridges  in  this 
country  ? " 

"  No,  could  n't  tell  ef  I  ever  did.  Tears  as  though  there 
might  have  been  some  bridges  round  somewhar,  but  don't 
know  whar." 

"  Well ! "  replied  the  colonel,  "  I  know  of  one  not  half  a 
mile  from  your  house,  which  I  am  going  to  burn ;  and  if 
you  will  look  in  that  direction,  you  will  soon  know  where 
one  bridge  was." 

The  bridge  was  a  new  one,  made  of  green  timber ;  and, 
obstinately  refusing  to  burn,  was  consumed  by  means  of  a 
load  of  hay  captured  on  its  way  to  the  Eebel  cavalry.  The 
glare  of  the  burning  hay  and  timbers  illuminated  the  sur 
rounding  country,  and  the  old  woman  knew  from  that 
moment  where  one  bridge  had  been. 

The  next  adventure  of  the  merry  raiders  was  an  encounter 
with  a  jolly  Baptist  parson,  hunting  for  his  runaway  negro. 
He  was  pushing  along  on  horseback,  and  aimed,  as  he  said, 
to  stop  his  slave  from  going  into  our  lines.  It  was  Sun 
day,  and  the  parson  said  he  had  just  finished  his  services, 
and  thought  he  was  doing  right.  Within  ten  miles  of 
Richmond  they  met  an  old  negro,  the  owner  of  one  thou 
sand  acres  of  land,  and  of  his  wife  and  child ;  but  he  was 
a  rabid  Secessionist. 

The  raid  occupied  five  continuous  days  and  nights; 
during  this  time  the  halts  were  few  and  brief.  The 
command  came  back  well  mounted  for  the  most  part  on 


AT  WEST  POINT,  VIRGINIA.  77 

fine  horses,  they  having  exchanged  every  one  of  those 
on  which  they  started  for  a  fresh  one.  The  country 
through  which  the  raiders  passed  was  contiguous  to  that 
which  had  been  occupied  in  recent  military  movements ; 
but  no  evidences  of  want  were  seen,  and  there  were  no 
signs  of  the  distress  which  our  papers  proclaimed  to  have 
befallen  the  Kebels.  Our  men  saw  flourishing  vegetation, 
cattle,  sheep,  and  fine  warehouses  filled  with  bacon  enough 
to  feed  the  Fredericksburg  army  for  at  least  five  days,  — 
and  this  though  they  saw  but  a  single  de*p6t,  and  moved 
over  but  a  single  line  of  march.  Nor  did  they  discover 
signs  of  worn-out  railroads.  If  there  was  want  among  the 
people,  it  was  concealed.  Of  material  there  seemed  to 
be  enough  for  a  long  prosecution  of  the  war.  Making 
due  allowance  for  a  tendency  to  exaggerate,  to  which  both 
cavalry  and  sailors  are  given  in  the  presence  of  infantry 
and  marines,  there  was  enough  doubtless  in  this  exploit 
to  command  respect,  enough  perhaps  to  cause  the  Eebel 
Stuart  to  look  to  laurels  won  in  his  raid  to  our  rear  after 
Antietam.  But,  alas !  the  grand  object  was  not  accom 
plished  ;  for  Hooker,  instead  of  taking  advantage  of  burned 
bridges  and  destroyed  railways,  was  again  in  his  old  lines 
on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Eappahannock. 

Hooker's  late  fiasco  was  severely  criticised  by  one  Schalk, 
who  questioned  his  claim  to  generalship.  It  was  alleged 
that,  after  crossing  the  river,  Hooker  made  but  six  miles 
in  thirty-six  hours ;  and  that,  while  blatantly  asserting  what 
he  would  do  with  the  enemy  when  he  was  in  a  position 
to  do  it,  he  took  up  a  defensive  line,  and  so  resolved  his 
order  of  threatened  Eebel  annihilation  into  the  most  ridicu 
lous  publication  of  the  day.  One  of  my  colonels,  who  took 
a  prominent  part  in  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  told  me 
that  the  Eleventh  Corps  was  in  line  of  battle  in  the  road 
and  had  been  there  more  than  two  days,  but  had  neglected 


78  A  WAK  DIARY. 

to  throw  up  intrenchments.  At  four  o'clock  on  the  day  of 
the  fight,  Hooker  and  Howard  rode  along  and  examined 
the  line  (it  was  the  extreme  right),  and  they  knew  it  rested 
upon  no  obstacle,  was  not  strengthened  either  by  troops  in 
e"chelon,  by  batteries,  or  by  intrenchments.  At  six  o'clock 
the  enemy  opened  from  a  battery  an  enfilading  fire  on  the 
right  of  our  line,  and  then  advanced  in  columns  with  small 
fronts.  Thus  they  encountered  our  first  line ;  and  it  gave 
way.  The  second  line  followed ;  every  one  was  taken  by 
surprise.  Officers  had  sent  in  reports  that  the  enemy  was 
massing  in  front ;  but  no  change  was  made  to  meet  the 
sledge-hammer  attack  of  strong  columns  upon  one  end  of  a 
thin  line.  The  day  would  have  been  saved  by  batteries 
that  could  have  cut  up  the  enemy's  advancing  columns,  by 
strong  intrenchments,  or  by  a  proper  disposition  of  troops ; 
but  no  preparations  of  the  kind  were  made. 

It  was  pleasant  to  turn  from  this  disaster  at  the  East  to 
brilliant  reports  from  the  West,  where  our  cavalry  raids 
under  Grierson  surpassed  anything  the  Rebels  had  ever  ac 
complished.  Through  eight  hundred  miles  of  the  enemy's 
country  the  brave  colonel  passed  in  safety,  and  brought  to 
us  precise  information  of  the  destruction  of  bridges  and 
material,  and  the  destitution  of  the  people.  Grant  was 
doing  well  there ;  and  our  noble  navy  on  the  Mississippi 
did  well.  It  began  to  seem  as  if  the  day  of  Rebel  tri 
umphs  would  soon  be  over. 

For  the  first  time,  the  enemy  made  known  his  presence 
on  the  York  by  an  attack  upon  our  mail-boat  as  she  was 
nearing  West  Point,  less  than  two  miles  from  her  wharf. 
A  cooler  captain  never  commanded  a  river  steamer  under 
close  fire  from  artillery  than  stood  there  that  afternoon  on 
the  "  Swan."  Before  us  all  she  steamed  along,  with  shells 
exploding  around  her  decks  and  over  her  machinery,  as 
unconcerned  as  if  she  were  receiving  a  salute,  and  arrived 


AT  WEST   POINT,   VIRGINIA.  79 

safe  at  her  wharf,  defiantly  floating  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 
with  but  a  slight  hit  from  a  shell  in  her  bow.  To  reach 
the  Eebel  battery  required  the  use  of  gunboats,  and  they 
were  ready  even  before  I  could  send  them  a  message.  The 
commander  of  the  "  Morse  "  was  the  first  under  way, 
cleared  for  action,  and  firing  as  he  approached  the  wooded 
cover  whence  the  Eebel  artillery  had  opened  so  sud 
denly  and  without  a  single  note  of  warning  upon  the 
"Swan."  Following  in  a  tug,  I  gained  the  "Morse's" 
deck,  to  witness  beautiful  shots  from  her  one  hundred- 
pounder  Parrot  and  nine-inch  Dahlgrens,  ventilating  the 
houses  around  the  place  whither  the  Eebel  battery  ap 
peared  to  have  fled.  No  reply  was  made  to  our  armed 
steamer,  even  though  our  practice  was  continued  for  a  time. 
To  prevent,  if  possible,  a  repetition  of  this  outrage,  and  as 
a  lasting  lesson  to  Eebel  hunters  of  defenceless  steamers,  I 
decided  that  the  houses  should  be  destroyed.  From  the 
"  Morse  "  and  "  Mystic  "  (which  had  joined  her  consort), 
six  boats'  crews,  provided  with  turpentine  and  protected 
by  sailors  armed  with  rifles,  pulled  lustily  for  the  shore  and 
landed.  Only  one  man  appeared,  of  all  who  lived  within 
that  region,  to  beg  that  his  property  might  be  spared.  But 
he  had  come  too  late ;  the  fire  had  begun  its  work  of  ruin. 
He  said  that  he  had  implored  the  Eebels  not  to  select  that 
spot  for  their  guns,  for  it  would  bring  destruction  upon 
him ;  but  his  appeal  was  unheeded ;  he  was  told  to  move 
away.  To  sink  an  unarmed  Yankee  steamer,  they  brought 
upon  unoffending  people  misery  and  misfortune  which  they 
could  not  make  good. 

When  we  returned  to  our  post,  a  new  moon  silvered  the 
ripples  in  our  wake,  the  hum  of  insects  with  its  drowsy 
music  filled  the  air,  and  smoke  curled  upward  from  embers 
where  but  a  few  hours  before  were  homes  filled  with  com 
fort.  My  heart  ached  for  them;  but  they  were  of  the 


80  A  WAR  DIARY. 

Eebel  people,  of  the  rebellious  Government ;  and  in  the 
crushing  of  that  foul  pestilence  they  had  to  taste  of  the 
agonies  of  war.  Up  to  that  time,  however,  they  had  not 
drunk  deep  enough  of  the  bitterness  of  the  cup  ;  they 
were  defiant,  and  would  not  admit  that  the  war  brought 
suffering  in  its  train. 

In  many  ways  this  conclusion  was  brought  home  to  me, 
and  never  more  forcibly  than  in  my  conversations  with 
Southern  women.  The  wife  of  a  Eebel  colonel  made  an 
application  to  me  at  this  time  to  send  a  letter  to  her  hus 
band  through  the  flag-of-truce  boat  from  Fortress  Monroe. 
This  lady  doubted  whether  the  city  of  New  York  contained 
more  comforts  and  wealth  than  did  the  city  of  Kichmond, 
and  she  received  with  scornful  dissent  my  prophecy  that 
we  should  come  out  conquerors  in  the  end.  Neverthe 
less,  she  cherished  no  personal  feelings  of  animosity ;  and 
to  prove  it  she  sent  me,  by  the  fair  hands  of  her  sister,  a 
refreshing  present  of  strawberries  picked  from  her  own 
garden. 

Under  convoy  of  a  gunboat,  the  mail  steamer  resumed 
without  molestation  its  usual  trip  to  Yorktown,  bringing  to 
me  on  the  twenty-fourth  a  despatch  stating  that  Major- 
General  Ord,  having  been  assigned  to  duty  within  this  de 
partment,  had  been  designated  as  my  successor.  Although 
I  knew  there  was  no  other  command  for  a  major-general, 
and  that  he  had  to  be  disposed  of  somewhere,  I  experi 
enced  a  degree  of  vexation  which  I  am  afraid  I  did  not 
conceal  from  my  staff.  Though  such  rewards  for  arduous 
services  tend  to  paralyze  efforts,  an  officer  is  compelled  to 
submit  for  the  sake  of  the  country  ;  albeit  it  seemed  a  mis 
fortune  that  the  Government  had  not  enough  commands 
for  all  its  officers,  or,  as  President  Lincoln  put  it,  "  as 
many  holes  as  there  are  pegs  to  put  into  them."  But  to 
make  the  best  of  it,  and  to  provide  against  adverse  criti- 


AT   WEST   POINT,   VIRGINIA.  81 

cism,  I  made  a  final  inspection  before  the  coming  of  my 
superior  in  rank,  who  was  expected  upon  the  next  arrival 
of  the  mail-boat.  I  was  perfectly  satisfied,  and  had  no 
words  for  the  troops  but  praise.  The  kitchens  were  taste 
fully  ornamented  with  green  foliage  ;  the  tents  of  officers 
and  men  were  neat  and  clean,  and  every  precaution  had 
been  taken  against  sickness.  Both  in  military  discipline 
and  in  soldierly  appearance  I  had  nothing  to  regret  in 
turning  over  such  a  command. 

Although  one  does  not  resign  the  sceptre  without  emo 
tion,  it  was  with  somewhat  of  a  complacent  smile  that  I  saw 
my  aid  buckle  on  his  sword,  and  repair  to  the  wharf  to 
greet  my  successor.  Betaking  myself  to  my  quarters,  I  sat 
in  state  for  the  few  brief  moments  that  remained  to  me  as 
the  commander  of  the  United  States  forces  at  West  Point  in 
Virginia.  General  Ord  was  announced.  Kings  have  relin 
quished  crowns  to  save  their  heads,  preferring  their  caput  to 
a  sceptre :  but  kings  deposed  have  tasted  of  royal  munifi 
cence  in  solemn  state  in  silent  castles  with  a  show  of  former 
grandeur.  Barren,  however,  is  the  place  of  second  in  rank. 
No  more  the  sweet  consciousness  of  the  power  of  yester 
day  ;  no  waiting  on  a  look,  a  word ;  no  authority  or  act  to 
be  rewarded  by  public  applause ;  no  conciliatory  presents 
of  strawberries  and  fish  and  first-fruits ;  no  such  flattering 
words  as  those  uttered  by  a  sagacious  major,  who  toned 
down  my  chagrin  with  the  compliment,  "  that  it  was  the 
first  time  this  command  had  felt  a  military  will."  With  a 
consciousness  of  degradation  I  regarded  my  usurper.  We 
walked  together  along  the  lines.  I  pointed  out  batteries, 
traverses,  and  positions.  I  offered  my  own  quarters  to  his 
eminency,  but  he,  with  some  bowels  of  mercy  and  to  ease 
my  fall,  signified  his  royal  will  for  another  house ;  so  I 
shall  awake  again  with  the  calf-bleating  morn  surrounded 
by  the  ancient  elements  of  power.  In  other  ways  the 

6 


82  A   WAR   DIARY. 

General  mollified  me :  he  brought  fresh  fish  from  Fortress 
Monroe,  turned  them  into  my  mess,  and  supped  with  me 
on  my  fried  oysters.  After  tea  we  enjoyed  our  cigars  and 
a  pleasant  chat. 

Then  we  turned  our  attention  to  the  present  position  of 
military  affairs  and  my  location  at  West  Point.  General 
Ord  expressed  in  decided  terms  his  opinion  that  my  com 
mand  was  exposed  to  capture,  without  corresponding  gain  ; 
that  the  service  received  no  benefit  from  such  isolation. 
Our  communication  with  Yorktown  might  at  any  moment 
be  prevented  by  batteries  of  large  guns  which  the  enemy 
could  bring  to  bear,  and  which  the  gunboats  could  not  de 
feat  or  destroy.  But  more  than  all  this,  that  we  were  use 
less  here ;  that  the  position  was  one  which  should  either 
be  occupied  as  a  base  by  fifty  thousand  men,  or  be  aban 
doned:  I  replied  that  I  not  only  agreed  with  him,  but 
that  I  had  made  the  same  representations  to  General  Dix ; 
but  that,  undoubtedly  for  good  reasons,  he  had  not  advised 
me  of  his  determination.  So  strongly  persuaded  was  Ord 
that  this  place  should  be  abandoned,  that  he  resolved  to 
leave  in  the  morning  for  Fortress  Monroe,  and  advise  it, 
both  for  the  sake  of  safety  and  as  a  means  of  concentrat 
ing  troops. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  May  the  General  exam 
ined  my  works.  He  found  them  strong  and  well  planned, 
but  he  thought  the  armament  was  not  heavy  enough.  Ee- 
turning  in  time  for  the  boat,  he  went  on  board,  while  I 
turned  my  attention  to  a  reconnoissance  just  completed, 
which  revealed  information  of  an  intended  attack  upon 
this  post  by  two  columns  of  the  enemy ;  one  of  which  was 
to  establish  heavy  batteries  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Pa- 
munkey,  to  sink  our  gunboats  and  shell  my  position  ;  while 
the  other  contemplated  an  assault  in  front.  Most  impor 
tant  corroborating  information  of  this  movement,  dropped 


AT   WEST   POINT,   VIRGINIA.  83 

by  white  people  unwittingly  into  their  servants'  ears,  was 
brought  to  me  by  a  negro  scout;  and  this  was  subsequently 
confirmed  by  colored  people  who  came  into  my  lines  from 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Eappahannock  and  the  Mattapony. 
They  not  only  reported  projected  Eebel  movements,  but 
they  told  me  of  the  removal  of  grain  and  bacon  to  more 
secure  depots.  To  intimidate  the  negroes,  to  deter  them 
from  escaping,  their  masters  told  them  that  we  should  doom 
them  to  a  more  hopeless  state  of  slavery  in  Cuba,  where  we 
intended  to  send  them  to  be  sold.  This  frightful  prospect 
failed  to  arrest  the  flight  of  these  faithful  blacks.  Sleeping 
by  day  in  swamps  and  travelling  by  night,  they  flocked 
into  my  lines,  bringing  witli  them  their  wives  and  children, 
and  their  bundles  of  worldly  goods. 

More  information,  confirming  the  rumored  attack  upon 
this  post,  was  continually  brought  in  by  scouts,  so  that 
when  we  heard  the  boom  of  large  guns  up  the  Pamunkey 
and  the  sound  of  bursting  shells,  we  very  naturally  thought 
that  the  anticipated  attack  was  beginning.  The  men 
ceased  work  upon  bomb-proofs  near  the  intrenchments, 
and  began  to  prepare  to  repel  the  assault.  My  staff  offi 
cers,  however,  brought  the  information  that  the  commander 
of  one  of  our  erratic  gunboats  was  indulging  in  a  little 
promiscuous  firing  to  try  his  range.  The  effect  of  the 
discharge  of  heavy  guns  and  bursting  shells  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  an  outpost  did  not  bring  comfort  to  the  re 
sponsible  commander  thereof,  especially  when  he  was 
momentarily  expecting  the  opening  guns  of  a  fight. 

On  the  27th  of  May  I  received  a  note  from  General  Dix, 
stating  that  Ord  had  been  ordered  to  Vicksburg,  and  that 
he  should  either  reinforce  me  with  a  brigade  of  infantry,  or 
withdraw  from  West  Point ;  and  that  to  determine  which 
it  should  be,  he  was  awaiting  despatches  from  Washington. 
That  these  were  unfavorable  to  the  plan  of  reinforcing,  I 


84  A  WAR  DIARY. 

knew  from  General  Dix,  who,  with  Generals  Keyes  and 
Peck,  landed  at  my  post  on  the  afternoon  of  the  29th  of 
May.  He  informed  me  that  the  Eebels  were  massing  all 
their  forces  in  front  of  Hooker,  and  that  no  more  troops 
could  be  sent  into  his  department ;  arid  that  he  wished  to 
consider  the  question  of  my  evacuating  West  Point.  After 
a  long  consultation  it  was  decided  that  I  should  withdraw ; 
that  the  movement  should  begin  that  night  on  steam  trans 
ports,  to  be  sent  up  from  Fortress  Monroe.  This  matter 
concluded,  the  General  and  his  party  left,  and  I  made 
preparation  for  a  rapid  and  secret  embarkation.  The  safe 
removal  of  the  colored  women  and  children  of  my  colony 
was  provided  for  by  sending  them  the  next  morning  by  the 
mail-boat  to  Yorktown ;  the  men  were  to  follow  with  the 
troops.  The  fair  Camilla,  daughter  of  my  landlord,  was 
really  agitated  at  this  disposal  of  the  negroes,  especially  as 
among  them  was  her  own  female  chattel,  who  wished  to  go 
with  the  "'joicing"  darkies.  When  she  appealed  to  me  to 
forbid  the  woman's  departure,  I  replied  that  I  had  no  right 
to  command  her  to  live  here,  or  to  live  there ;  that  she  was 
free,  — "  as  free,  Miss  Camilla,  as  yourself."  "  Never ! "  she 
ejaculated,  with  a  scornful  toss  of  her  head  and  a  quick, 
spasmodic  breath  ;  "  she  is  mine,  she  was  willed  to  me,  and 
she  never  can  find  a  better  mistress."  "  To  use  your  own 
word,  '  never  ! '  "  I  replied  ;  "  she  is  no  one's ;  she  is  free ; 
and  she  must  do  as  she  thinks  best."  But  this  departure 
of  the  maid-of-all-work  harrowed  my  landlord  most  griev 
ously  in  his  efforts  to  play  the  role  of  milk-maid;  and 
albeit  "  he  was  a  Union  man  from  the  beginning "  (in 
my  presence),  he  threatened  this  poor  negress  with  a 
pistol !  Yet  he  "  always  did  hate  slavery ! " 

During  the  whole  of  the  night  of  the  30th  of  May  I  gave 
my  personal  attention  to  the  loading  of  public  property 
and  heavy  ordnance,  even  to  a  large  thirty-two  pounder,  of 


AT  WEST   POINT,  VIRGINIA.  85 

which  it  was  not  discovered  that  it  had  been  spiked  at 
Yorktown  until  it  was  half-way  to  its  destination  at  West 
Point.  The  promised  boats  not  arriving,  I  packed  the 
mail-boat  and  a  coal-schooner,  fortunately  anchored  here, 
with  ambulances,  baggage,  ammunition,  and  stores.  This 
work  of  supervision  I  continued  during  the  thirty-first. 
Two  works  for  artillery  were  levelled;  but  this  exposed 
my  own  pieces,  and  so  agitated  my  chief  of  artillery  that 
he  at  once  discovered  a  Eebel  gun  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Mattapony,  within  less  than  one  thousand  yards,  and  in  a 
fine  position  to  shell  the  wharf  from  which  the  infantry 
were  to  embark.  To  this  startling  announcement  I  gave 
no  credit,  until  I  was  assured  that,  upon  using  a  tele 
scope,  a  thirty-two  or  twenty-four  pounder  gun,'  with  the 
carriage  and  men  around  it,  was  to  be  seen,  — "  not  only 
by  me,"  said  the  officer,  "  but  by  several  of  the  men." 
This  discovery  of  the  Quixotic  artillerist  so  affected  the 
imagination  of  a  lively  lieutenant  of  my  provost  guard,  who 
had  been  peering  from  an  elevation  behind  a  thick  clump 
of  trees  which  no  human  eye  could  have  penetrated,  that 
he  remembered  that  early  in  the  morning  he  had  seen  a 
tree  fall  on  the  suspected  site,  as  if  space  were  being  made 
for  a  battery.  Several  soldiers  became  victims  of  this 
phantom  of  the  imagination,  until  at  length  groups  of  offi 
cers  and  men,  field  and  line,  began  to  discover  batteries, 
cavalry,  and  infantry  in  every  direction.  "  There,"  said  a 
colonel,  gazing  intently  into  the  thick  woods  lining  the 
shore,  — "  there  is,  I  think,  sir,  an  earthwork ;  and  cer 
tainly  I  can  make  out  cavalry  behind  those  trees." 

"  There  are  men  there,"  now  spoke  out  a  signal  officer, 
"  and  they  are  white  men,  I  think.  Yes,  they  are,  though 
some  of  them  look  like  negroes.  Oh,  now  I  see  !  there  are 
colored  men  there  too  !  " 

"  Look  again,  and  see  if  all  of  them  are  colored,"  I 
directed. 


86  A   WAR   DIARY. 

"  Yes,  sir ;  they  are !  I  was  mistaken ;  they  are  all 
negroes." 

"  Now  look  for  a  battery,  and  tell  me  what  you  find." 

After  a  long  look  he  dropped  his  glass  with  a  laugh,  ex 
claiming,  "  I  Ve  found  it,  sir !  There  it  is,  —  a  long  pine 
pole  on  a  pair  of  forward  cart-wheels  ! " 

The  arrival  of  from  sixteen  to  twenty  fugitives  at  this 
time,  none  of  whom  had  seen  any  organized  body  moving 
on  the  Pamunkey  towards  our  post,  convinced  me  that  no 
immediate  peril  was  to  be  feared  while  we  were  in  the 
defenceless  position  of  loading  the  transports;  although, 
as  will  appear  hereafter,  the  hazard  was  much  greater 
than  I  apprehended  it  to  be. 

Toward^  evening  of  the  thirty-first  the  promised  steam 
ers  hove  in  sight.  Throughout  the  long  night  and  into  the 
morning  of  the  1st  of  June  cavalry,  infantry,  artillery,  and 
wagons  were  being  transferred  to  the  decks  of  the  steam 
ers.  From  nightfall  of  the  thirty-first  to  sunrise,  and 
until  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  1st  of  June,  I  stood  on 
the  wharf.  When  the  last  soldier  was  on  board,  whe*n  the 
last  plank  of  public  property  had  been  removed,  I  went  on 
board  a  gunboat  and  took  my  place  with  the  rear  of  the 
fleet.  The  withdrawal  had  been  eminently  successful. 
The  pickets,  the  last  to  leave,  gave  no  token  of  my  move 
ments  to  lurking  Eebels.  Nor  was  any  sympathizing  in 
habitant  suffered  to  go  out.  A  complaining  woman,  who 
appeared  blindfolded  at  my  headquarters,  was  held  until 
her  reports  would  be  harmless.  Snatching  a  brief  nap 
on  the  gunboat  after  two  days  and  nights  of  continuous 
labor,  I  arrived  at  Yorktown  at  eleven  at  night  of  the  1st 
of  June,  when  I  got  a  refreshing  sleep  within  the  quarters 
of  the  adjutant-general  of  General  Keyes. 


ON  THE  PENINSULA,  87 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ON  THE  PENINSULA. 

ST  the  2d  of  June,  1863,  Yorktown  from  my  point 
of  view  consisted  of  a  half-dozen  dingy  houses,  old 
camps,  faded  evergreens,  a  guardhouse  protected  by  a 
single  gun,  a  flag,  and  a  sutler's  store.  The  old  military 
lines  of  Lord  Cornwallis  lay  within  those  of  the  Eebel 
Magruder ;  and  around'  them  both  were  the  forts,  roads, 
and  parallels  of  McClellan. 

The  zigzag  approaches  to  McClellan's  parallels,  just  be 
hind  which  our  batteries  were  placed,  and  which  seemed 
to  me  not  more  than  one  thousand  yards  from  the  Eebel 
fort,  began  on  the  plain  about  a  mile  from  Yorktown.  The 
one  starting  from  the  York  River  was  approached  from 
under  cover  of  a  bluff,  and  was  well  protected  from  the 
Rebel  fire  at  Gloucester  Point  battery.  Now  to  approach 
Yorktown  harmless  under  this  battery  was  a  difficult  prob 
lem.  By  courses  of  ditches  or  boyaux,  always  approaching 
the  Rebel  works,  moving  in  one  direction  far  enough  to 
gain  a  decided  advantage,  then  tacking  as  it  were  to  an 
other  still  nearer,  and  so  on  to  within  one  thousand  yards, 
the  plain  was  passed,  despite  the  shot  and  shell  from 
Gloucester  Point  and  other  Rebel  works.  Where  natural 
ravines  furnished  cover  they  were  enlarged  and  used; 
creeks  were^  bridged ;  and  thus  positions  were  gained  from 
which  the  Rebels  wisely  fled.  McClellan's  works  showed 
skill  and  great  regard  for  life.  The  grounds  presented  but 
little  trace  of  the  work  performed  there.  Near  the  trenches 


88  A  WAR  DIARY. 

were  the  remains  of  heaps  of  dead  cattle  said  to  have  died 
from  poison.  Two  or  three  hundred  of  the  sheep  which 
Kilpatrick  secured  in  his  raid  were  fattening  on  the  plain 
for  soldiers'  use. 

An  inspection  of  the  Eebel  works  around  the  town, 
which  I  approached  from-  McClellan's  first  position,  showed 
me  a  generally  regular  bastioned  front  with  a  wide  ditch. 
The  scarp  wall  below  the  parapet  was  supported  by  trunks 
of  pine  trees  placed  in  juxtaposition  to  hold  the  loose  soil 
in  its  place.  Abatis  surround  the  work.  A  series  of 
such  works,  connected  by  a  bieast-height  with  a  ditch  for 
riflemen,  cross  the  Peninsula.  The  last  of  these  was  at 
Lee's  Mills  on  the  James,  and  was  said  to  be  very  strong. 
On  the  river  front  at  Yorktown  there  were  disconnected 
water  batteries,  to  prevent  landing.  The  interior  of  all 
these  works  was  well  traversed,  every  gun  being  protected 
on  its  flanks ;  and  the  traverses  were  well  revetted.  The 
works  were  very  strong,  and  it  is  a  mistake  to  say  that 
they  presented  no  obstacle  to  McClellan,  and  that  he  could 
have  taken  them  easily  by  assault.  The  distance  around 
the  parapet  of  the  fort  at  Yorktown  was  about  a  mile  and 
a  half. 

Of  the  Eebel  defences  near  James  Eiver,  the  most  for 
midable,  with  the  exception  of  Yorktown,  were  at  Lee's 
Mills,  where  rows  of  redoubts  and  rifle-pits  anticipated 
approach  in  all  directions.  General  Keyes,  who  was  with 
McClellan  in  his  campaign,  pointed  out  to  me  his  own 
position,  and  directed  my  attention  to  the  chimneys  from 
which  his  scouts  viewed  the  Eebel  lines,  and  to  the  posi 
tions  where  his  guns  bore  upon  the  enemy's  earthworks. 
The  distance  from  the  York  to  the  James  is  seven  miles. 
One  continuous  line  of  fortifications  stood  in  the  way  of 
our  army's  movement  up  the  Peninsula.  Situated  behind 
dense  woods,  concealed  by  ridges  and  thick  pine  forests, 


ON   THE  PENINSULA.  89 

with  rifle-pits  filled  with  sharpshooters,  with  execrable 
roads  in  the  rainy  season,  I  became  more  and  more  con 
vinced  that  the  enemy's  position  offered  a  most  formidable 
obstacle  to  our  advance ;  and  I  am  sure  that  in  hold 
ing  the  enemy  in  check  all  along  this  line,  and  making 
his  attack  where  he  could  have  the  benefit  of  his  gunboats, 
McClellan  acted  wisely  and  with  all  possible  celerity. 
Two  and  three  lines  of  Kebel  earthworks  commanding 
the  immediate  front  attested  the  desperate  resistance  in 
tended.  That  the  defences  of  Yorktown  were  overcome 
with  such  little  loss  may,  perhaps,  afford  new  proof  of 
McClellan's  genius. 

On  our  way  back  we  rode  by  the  mansion  of  one  Lee, 
called  Lee's  Hall.  It  was  built  of  brick,  and  presented  the 
dingy  and  unthrifty  appearance  of  most  of  the  great  Vir 
ginia  estates.  The  fences  had,  of  course,  been  destroyed, 
making  broader  the  broad  fields  of  the  estate.  On  a  grassy 
knoll  in  front,  and  within  about  twenty  yards  of  the  main 
entrance,  a  field-work  for  artillery  and  riflemen  had  been 
erected.  The  family,  consisting  of  five  or  six  persons, 
hardly  raised  their  eyes  as  we  passed  ;  they  sat  in  gloomy 
array  on  the  piazza,  mourning  over  the  fate  of  their  be 
longings.  Eoaming  over  the  lawn,  a  few  sleek  cattle  and 
fine  horses,  feeding  in  blissful  ignorance  of  surrounding 
desolation,  were  protected  by  our  cavalry,  who  had  been 
posted  there  by  General  Keyes  both  as  a  safeguard  and 
as  a  picket  station. 

A  few  days  later  I  rode  out  by  Wormley's  Creek  into 
the  poor  and  impoverished  country  beyond.  The  few 
women  I  saw  —  for  the  men  were  for  the  most  part  in  the 
service  of  the  Confederacy  —  were  wretched,  poverty- 
stricken  beings.  At  one  place  I  came  upon  a  log-hut.  A 
sick-looking  woman  gazed  at  us  from  the  window,  while 
one  more  robust  met  us  at  the  door,  holding  in  her  hands 


90  A   WAR  DIARY. 

cards  with  which  she  had  been  preparing  a  shoddy  com 
posed  of  wool,  from  an  old  soldier's  coat  of  army  blue,  — 
a  remnant  of  the  battle-field.  It  was  to  be  mixed  with  a 
little  cotton  of  her  own  raising,  to  be  spun  into  yarn  for 
socks.  "  Do  you  live  here  alone  ?  "  I  asked. 

"Yes,  we  do.  My  son  is  in  the  Eebel  army,  as  you 
call  it ;  and  I  have  not  heard  from  him  for  certain  for 
more  than  a  year.  Sometimes  a  deserter  conies  here  who 
says  he  knew  him." 

"  Have  you  no  husband  living  ? " 

"  No,  my  husband  is  dead  ;  have  nobody  to  do  anything 
for  me  ;  my  neighbors  are  as  poor  as  I,  and  all  suffering." 

Her  farm  was  unworked,  and  twice  (greatest  of  crimes  to 
a  poor  Virginian)  she  had  had  her  chickens  stolen.  I  en 
deavored  to  console  her  with  a  promise  that  the  healing 
wings  of  peace  should  cover  her  this  year;  but  her  sad 
eyes  followed  us,  and  the  sick  woman  moaned  after  us,  as 
we  rode  along  the  obscure  pathway,  by  the  square-looking 
fort  which  showed  its  ugly  sides  near  the  door  of  this 
quiet  abode.  It  was  built,  as  the  woman  said,  "by  the 
Secesh,  or  Eebels,  as  you  call  them." 

On  the  9th  of  June  I  was  once  more  ordered  to  move  to 
the  front,  and  take  post  within  the  line  of  fortifications  in 
the  rear  of  Williamsburg,  about  ejeven  miles  from  York- 
town.  This  venerable  place  was  at  the  time  under  the 
sway  of  "  Old  Wise,"  as  he  was  called,  —  a  brigadier  in  the 
service  of  the  Confederacy.  With  several  thousand  men 
this  valiant  politician  confronted  our  pickets  on  the  Rich 
mond  road.  Neither  Union  nor  Rebel  forces  occupied  the 
town ;  it  was  called  neutral  ground,  although  the  care  of 
the  lunatic  asylum,  which  happened  to  be  there,  had  fallen 
to  us.  Between  Generals  Keyes  and  Wise  a  furious  war 
of  words  had  raged  about  the  lunatics,  —  the  former  charg 
ing  that  the  latter  had  exercised  his  military  gifts  in  cap- 


ON  THE  PENINSULA.  91 

turing  United  States  nurses  while  engaged  in  their  work  of 
humanity.  Denying  this,  the  Eebel  general  levelled  against 
Keyes  thundering  accusations  of  spoliation  and  robbery, 
not  of  lunatic  asylums  alone,  but  of  the  goods  and  chattels 
of  the  people  of  Virginia.  In  this  sort  of  warfare  Keyes 
was  overmatched;  but  he  had  no  occasion  to  grieve,  for 
the  aspect  of  this  grave  quarrel  between  two  opposing 
generals  in  the  field  over  a  lunatic  asylum  was  supremely 
ridiculous. 

At  daylight  my  preparations  began,  with  the  usual  crash 
which  precedes  the  movement  of  a  military  column, — 
boxes  to  pack,  camp-beds  to  roll  up,  papers  to  stow  away, 
and  messing  arrangements  to  complete.  At  half-past 
twelve  we  were  cheered  by  news  of  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  ; 
which,  though  coming  through  Eebel  sources  to  the  captain 
of  a  gunboat,  and  transmitted  by  various  agents  to  our 
"  special  correspondent,"  and  at  length  promulgated  by  the 
agent  of  the  Associated  Press,  we  believed,  because  we 
wanted  to  believe  it,  and  because  we  had  been  expecting 
it.  What  every  one  knows  to  be  true  of  troops  on  the 
march  was  as  true  of  the  column  which  left  Yorktown  on 
the  9th  of  June,  1863,  as  it  ever  has  been  and  ever  will 
be  in  war,  —  and  that  is,  it  had  hardly  marched  its  own 
length  before  it  began  to  slough  off  part  of  its  own  mem 
bers.  Stragglers  from  a  nine-months'  regiment  adorned 
the  shade  of  every  tree,  lined  the  banks  of  every  running 
stream,  lagged  along  the  roadway,  and  dropped  in  heaps 
of  officers  and  men  wherever  they  found  inviting  ground. 
Of  what  use  was  it  to  labor  with  soldiers  whose  term  of 
enlistment  —  at  first  too  short  —  was  now  to  last  but  thir 
teen  days  more  ?  JSTo  appeal  could  be  made  to  pride  or 
reputation,  for  had  not  Congress  in  its  wisdom,  by  solemn 
enactment,  fixed  the  term  of  nine  months  as  one  of  honor 
able  service  ?  To  question  its  sagacity  in  so  doing,  to  pry 


92  A  WAR  DIARY. 

into  the  mysterious  causes  which  influenced  our  Senators, 
may  have  been  impertinent ;  but  it  is  what  I  did  on  one 
occasion,  and  from  a  great  and  shining  Senatorial  light 
received  the  flippant  answer  that  some  Senators  went  in 
for  twelve,  and  some  for  six  months,  and  on  the  whole  the 
Senate  thought  it  best  to  split  the  difference  ! 

At  the  end  of  our  first  day's  march  we  halted  at  Fort 
Magruder,  on  the  historic  ground  of  the  first  battle  of 
Williamsburg.  Here  it  was  that  Hancock  made  his  mag 
nificent  charge  in  that  severe  struggle  which  our  troops 
under  Hooker  encountered  as  McClellan  toiled  towards 
Richmond.  The  roads,  imperfect  as  we  found  them,  were 
infinitely  better  than  when  that  engagement  took  place. 
How  they  were  passable  in  rainy  weather  confounds  me. 
To  check  McClellan's  march  at  this  point  (a  level  plain, 
thickly  wooded,  with  occasional  clearings)  the  Rebels  had 
constructed  a  line  of  detached  redoubts,  extending  from 
the  York  to  the  James.  The  Federal  approach  to  these 
works  was  obstructed  by  thick  timber,  through  which  it 
was  necessary  to  pass  for  about  five  hundred  yards  before 
coming  upon  the  forts  themselves.  A  dense  underbrush  of 
thorny  growth  offered  a  terrible  impediment  to  our  columns 
in  the  wood,  while  barricades  and  obstructions  opposed 
their  progress  on  the  two  or  three  roadways  that  led 
through  it.  The  Rebels  stoutly  resisted  efforts  on  our 
left,  and  withdrew  only  when  Hancock  had  gained  their 
left  by  his  detour  from  our  right.  This  position  was  strong, 
and  should  have  been  held  more  stubbornly.  Our  brave 
men  fought  with  every  disadvantage.  Overcoming  the 
obstacles  in  the  wood,  they  emerged  therefrom  but  to  meet 
slashed  timber,  impassable  abatis,  steep  ditches,  stout  re 
doubts,  and  a  clear  sweep  of  murderous  artillery  as  they 
were  struggling  in  the  mazes  of  these  devilish  obstructions. 
The  brilliancy  of  Hancock's  charge  consisted  in  first  feign- 


ON   THE   PENINSULA.  93 

ing  a  retreat,  which  induced  the  enemy  to  leave  his  fortifi 
cations  in  pursuit,  and  then  in  turning  upon  the  overjoyed 
Eebels  and  scattering  them  like  chaff  before  they  could 
regain  their  friendly  shelter.  He  fairly  whipped  them,  but 
lost  much  of  the  effect  of  the  pursuit,  as  the  country  to 
the  rear  was  obstructed  by  thick  woods. 

In  command  of  our  troops  at  this  place  I  found  Colonel 
West,  a  most  cautious  and  valuable  officer,  who  was  brought 
up  in  the  old  army.  He  rode  with  me  to  find  the  best 
ground  for  an  encampment,  and  then  gave  us  a  dinner  of 
soup,  fish,  chicken,  lamb,  green  peas,  lettuce,  and  straw 
berries, —  all  of  which  were  eaten  on  a  real  table,  from 
white  crockery,  in  the  presence  of  fourteen  officers  of  his 
mess.  After  an  animated  discussion,  I  went  back  to  my 
encampment,  the  site  for  which  I  had  intrusted  to  my 
engineer  officer,  with  a  confidence  which  was  not  mis 
placed  ;  for  I  found  my  wagons  unloaded  in  a  charming 
nook  just  in  front  of  the  rifle-pits  which  our  enemies  had 
excavated  but  little  more  than  one  year  before.  This 
battle-field  of  Williamsburg  was  quiet  now,  but  it  bore  on 
its  face  the  traces  of  a  mighty  struggle.  Not  many  yards 
from  where  I  tossed  uneasily,  there  in  the  thick  underbrush, 
were  whitened  bones  of  poor  wretches  who  had  died  in  a  vain 
attempt  to  dry  their  parched  lips  at  the  brook ;  and  nearer 
I  could  dimly  make  out  rows  of  headboards  and  shallow 
graves,  shreds  of  uniforms,  scraps  of  leather,  old  canteens 
and  cartridge-boxes,  cannon-balls,  scathed  trees,  and  many 
relics  of  a  battle-field. 

It  was  with  a  feeling  of  relief  that  I  heard  the  words, 
"  Four  o'clock,  sir,  and  breakfast 's  ready,"  from  my  cook. 
As  may  easily  be  imagined,  this  unseemly  hour  for  break 
fast  was  not  chosen  without  good  reason.  I  had  received 
orders  from  General  Dix  to  proceed  as  far  as  might  seem 
prudent  to  the  front,  to  beat  up  the  position  of  the  Eebels, 


94  A  WAR  DIARY. 

and  make  things  lively  generally.  For  this  purpose  my 
division  was  strengthened  by  two  squadrons  of  cavalry,  an 
extra  battery,  and  a  regiment  of  Delaware  infantry.  At  five 
I  gave  the  order  to  march,  and  moved  into  the  outskirts  of 
Williamsburg.  Scarcely  a  vestige  of  life  was  visible  as  we 
tramped  through  this  venerable  town.  It  was  deserted  save 
by  a  few  Federal  pickets;  and  these  gazed  sleepily  from 
their  quarters  in  the  quaint-looking  old  building,  now  a 
guard-house,  but  once  the  hall  where  Patrick  Henry  made 
his  fiery  address  to  the  people  during  the  days  of  our  Rev 
olution.  The  hall  is  an  unpretending  building,  with  but 
a  single  room  on  the  ground  floor.  The  once  somewhat 
famous  Williamsburg  College  is  a  heap  of  ruins,  upon  which 
Lord  Botetourt  in  bronze  gazes  solemnly  as  if  nothing  to 
speak  of  had  happened  about  him.  The  old  fellow  is 
said  to  have  been  an  original  settler  here,  in  what  is  re 
garded  by  some  as  the  oldest  settled  spot  in  Virginia.  We 
saw  the  much-discussed  lunatic  asylum,  with  its  two  or 
three  hundred  inmates  cared  for  by  our  charity  and  by  our 
nurses,  and  a  deserted  girls'  school. 

With  utter  indifference  to  the  scowling  whites,  the  scold 
ing  lunatics,  and  the  old  ruins  of  Williamsburg,  we  pushed 
rapidly  forward,  with  skirmishers  well  deployed,  until  I 
reached  the  classic  spot  —  town  shall  I  say  ?  —  of  "  Six- 
Mile  Ordinary."  I  was  for  a  time  in  doubt  whether  this 
name  signified  that  the  distance  was  ordinarily  six  miles, 
or  that  travellers  by  stage  would  find  a  very  ordinary  house 
of  entertainment  at  the  end  of  six  miles.  Here  we  captured 
a  Rebel,  who,  as  he  said,  rode  unconsciously  into  our  lines ; 
then  without  delay  pushed  on  to  the  "  Twelve-Mile  Ordi 
nary,"  whose  origin  and  title  are  probably  derived  from,  are 
allied  to,  and  do  not  belie,  its  six-mile  brother.  Halting 
the  main  column,  I  detached  a  force  of  infantry,  cavalry  ^ 
and  artillery,  under  command  of  the  colonel  of  the  127th 


ON  THE  PENINSULA.  95 

New  York  Infantry,  with  orders  to  proceed  to  Diascund 
Bridge,  and  dislodge  a  small  force  of  the  enemy  said  to  be 
intrenched  behind  a  protecting  stream  in  a  strong  position. 
Late  at  night  the  command  returned  without  having 
accomplished  anything.  The  colonel  found  the  enemy, 
was  fired  on,  returned  the  fire,  could  riot  use  his  artillery, 
and  so  came  back  with  his  men  hungry  (of  course)  and 
worn  out,  and  the  enemy  still  holding  Diascund  Bridge. 
On  the  floor  of  a  small  cottage  near  the  roadside  I  slept ; 
and  the  next  morning  started  an  expedition  to  Barhamsville, 
distant  about  six  or  seven  miles.  This  party  returned  in 
due  time,  and  reported  that  General  Wise,  with  three  regi 
ments  of  infantry,  cavalry,  and  artillery,  left  for  Slatersville 
as  my  force  approached.  This  information  was  subse 
quently  confirmed  by  a  deserter,  who  said  that  Wise  would 
run  to  Eichmond  if  I  would  pursue  him. 

I  had  complaints  from  complaining  people  that  my  troops 
were  taking  their  cattle  and  mules,  and  that  the  owners 
were  poor  and  suffering ;  so  to  those  who  were  in  need  I 
restored  the  mules.  All  who  complained  of  suffering  and 
poverty  and  robbery,  I  reminded  of  even-handed  justice 
and  the  "  poison'd  chalice."  And  thus  another  night  came, 
and  with  it  instructions  to  remain  in  this  vicinity  until 
further  orders.  This  march  was  a  diversion  for  another 
movement  ordered  by  General  Dix;  and  I  accordingly 
threw  out  my  troops  in  different  directions,  as  if  to  move 
forward.  But  to  make  more  permanent  dispositions,  I  left 
my  cavalry  pickets  here,  and  encamped  the  main  force  in 
its  rear  in  a  desirable  position.  A  prolonged  stay  made 
necessary  a  change  of  the  picket-line  and  a  more  extended 
occupation  of  ground.  The  troops,  therefore,  advanced  to 
a  wooded  front,  where  they  unearthed  a  Eebel  spy,  who 
ran  with  such  speed  that  he  dropped  a  carpet-bag  contain 
ing  two  uniforms, — one  blue  like  our  own,  and  one  a  Kebel 


96  A  WAR   DIARY. 

/ 

suit, —  for  use  within  the  different  lines.  That  he  escaped 
with  life  is  due  to  the  stupidity  of  the  guard,  who  saw  him 
as  he  fled,  but  made  no  effort  to  stop  him.  From  a  negro, 
the  cook  of  an  orderly  sergeant  of  General  Wise's  com 
mand,  I  learned  that  the  doughty  governor  was  in  full 
retreat  for  Eichmond. 

The  time  passed  in  this  way  until  the  14th  of  June.  This 
was  Sunday ;  but  not  a  Sunday  of  rest,  devotion,  church- 
bells,  and  village  harmonies.  A  day  of  despatches  and 
tumult  rather,  opening  with  a  brief  message  from  Colonel 
Porter  of  the  Fortieth  Massachusetts  Infantry,  that  he 
had  taken  the  position  at  Diascund  Bridge  without  serious 
resistance ;  had  thrown  a  small  force  on  its  Richmond  side, 
and  that  a  small  body  of  the  enemy  still  lingered  in  his 
front.  This  was  followed  by  a  note  from  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Lewis,  operating  to  the  front  with  the  cavalry, 
announcing  that  two  of  his  men  had  been  fired  at  by 
bushwhackers  while  on  duty  on  the  York  River  road ;  that 
one  was  killed,  and  the  other  seriously  wounded,  and  that 
he  had  sent  troops  to  the  scene  of  the  outrage.  A  day  or 
two  earlier  the  dead  body  of  another  of  my  command  was 
found  near  Barhamsville,  killed  by  the  guerillas  which 
infested  that  region.  Orders  were  sent  to  Colonel  Curtis, 
who  with  his  New  York  regiment  held  our  rear  at  Six- 
Mile  Ordinary,  to  scour  the  back  road  and  country  adja 
cent  to  Barhamsville,  beat  up  the  woods  for  guerillas,  and 
inform  the  people  that  I  should  hold  them  responsible  for 
all  the  evil  done,  if  they  harbored  or  concealed  such  out 
laws.  And  more  than  this :  if  such  outrages  were  com 
mitted  within  my  lines  of  occupation,  that  I  should  make 
captives  of  the  people,  burn  their  houses,  and  lay  waste 
their  fields.  They  were  reminded  that  an  assassin  is  not 
a  soldier,  nor  are  the  methods  used  by  the  assassin  legiti 
mate  in  warfare ;  that  assassins  are  murderers,  and  as  such 
are  entitled  to  a  short  shrift  and  a  long  rope. 


ON   THE   PENINSULA.  97 

Colonel  Curtis  received  his  orders  as  he  was  aoout  cele 
brating  divine  service  near  his  bivouac,  and  made  prepara 
tions  for  an  instantaneous  march.  His  destination  was 
Slatersville,  which  is  eight  or  ten  miles  beyond  Barhams- 
ville,  and  is  near  the  famous  White  House  of  McClellan's 
campaign.  The  facts  that  came  to  light  showed  that  this 
murder  was  meaner  and  more  dastardly  than  such  murders 
generally  are.  The  two  men  were  fired  upon  from  the 
bushes,  as  they  were  watering  their  horses  at  their  outpost, 
by  a  party  of  men  who  suddenly  rose  up  from  their  hiding- 
place  and  fired,  calling  out,  "  Let  the  damned  Yankees  see 
what  bushwhackers  can  do  ! "  Three  men,  residents  near 
by,  were  seized  by  Colonel  Lewis,  and  sent  to  me  under 
guard.  A  search  within  their  houses  brought  to  light 
muskets  and  cartridges,  the  last  containing  balls  and  buck 
shot.  Although  the  wounds  inflicted  were  made  by  buck 
shot,  the  prisoners  loudly  protested  their  innocence ;  even 
the  firing  they  had  not  heard.  They  did  own  those  mus 
kets,  but  they  were  picked  up  on  the  roadside  some  months 
before.  They  did  own  the  buck  and  ball  cartridges ;  but 
they  were  given  them  by  soldiers,  whether  Yankee  or  Eebel 
they  could  not  say.  Yes,  there  was  a  cartridge-box  found 
in  one  of  their  houses ;  but  it  was  given  to  one  of  their 
sons,  ten  years  of  age,  to  play  with  !  One,  in  whose  house 
two  or  three  guns  were  found,  denied  that  any  had  been 
there  for  some  time.  I  sent  these  men  as  prisoners  to  York- 
town,  despite  their  suffering  families.  To  be  sure,  I  could 
not  prove  that  they  fired  the  guns ;  but  if  such  deeds  were 
committed  within  the  vicinity  of  their  houses,  and  within 
those  houses  guns  found  for  which  the  same  missiles  that 
killed  my  men  were  fitted,  I  must  hold  the  residents  re 
sponsible.  A  man  should  be  steeled  against  tears,  and 
deaf  to  appeals  for  mercy,  who  has  to  sit  in  judgment  upon 
his  own  countrymen,  condemn  them  as  criminals,  and  turn 

7 


98  A  WAR   DIARY. 

from  their  cries  for  leniency.  "  They  are  right  honest  peo 
ple,"  was  the  statement  volunteered  by  the  man  and  wife 
at  whose  house  I  made  my  headquarters,  and  who  had 
lingered  near,  catching  every  word  that  dropped,  "and 
two  of  them  are  over  sixty  years  of  age."  It  was  easy 
to  see  that  my  involuntary  hostess  was  much  agitated. 
That  she  herself  was  but  indifferently  honest,  I  made  up 
my  own  mind  as  I  looked  into  her  scowling  face ;  and  how 
truly  I  read  her  will  appear  hereafter  in  an  account  of 
a  scheme  which  she  and  her  husband  concocted  with  a 
party  of  Rebels  to  capture  me  at  night  under  her  roof. 
As  these  men  fell  back  into  the  hands  of  the  guard,  a 
look  of  disappointment  stole  over  the  faces  of  those  who 
had  evidently  come  prepared  to  execute  a  swift  judgment 
upon  them.  The  comrades  of  the  murdered  men  unrolled 
from  their  saddles  their  long  lariats,  and  fumbled  at  the 
noose  as  they  gazed  longingly  and  professionally  at  the 
necks  of  the  prisoners,  who  they  believed  were  to  be  hung 
on  the  spot. 

Hardly  had  the  prisoners  turned  away,  when  a  young 
man  in  Rebel  uniform,  with  one  of  my  colonels  by  his  side, 
entered  my  apartment.  "  This,  sir,  is  the  young  officer  I 
spoke  of,"  said  the  colonel. 

"  Ah !  the  one  who  wishes  to  give  his  parole  ? "  I  in 
quired. 

"  No,  sir,"  interrupted  the  young  Eebel,  with  marked 
composure ;  "I  did  not  wish  to  give  my  parole." 

"  Then  you  are  my  prisoner.  Guard,  take  this  Rebel  to 
the  guardhouse." 

"  This  is  the  young  man,"  urged  the  colonel,  "  of  whom  I 
spoke  to  you  yesterday.  He  has  returned  home  to  visit 
his  family  in  affliction,  and  his  father  desired  me  to  ask 
you,  if  his  son  gave  himself  up,  whether  you  would  accept 
his  parole  and  let  him  remain  at  home." 


ON   THE  PENINSULA.  99 

"  And  I  consented/'  I  replied ;  "  but  he  declares  now  in 
my  presence  that  he  does  not  wish  to  give  his  parole." 

"  I  did  not,  I  said,"  again  interrupted  the  Eebel.  "  When 
my  father  sent  to  me  in  my  place  of  concealment  in  the 
woods,  to  come  to  the  house,  I  found  to  my  astonishment 
that  your  soldiers  were  in  the  yard." 

"  Your  father,  then,  is  to  blame,"  I  replied.  "  He  made 
known  to  me  that  he  desired  your  parole  to  be  taken." 

"  Then  I  do  desire  it  now,"  said  the  young  Eebel ;  "  but 
I  wish  you  to  understand  that  I  did  not  willingly  give  my 
self  up." 

"  Then,  sir,"  I  replied.  "  you  may  have  your  choice. 
Eemain  here  a  prisoner  of  war,  or  give  your  word  under 
oath  that  you  will  not  communicate  to  our  enemies  any 
information  of  our  movements  that  may  come  to  your 
knowledge ;  that  you  will  remain  closely  at  your  home  so 
long  as  our  troops  are  in  this  region ;  and  that  you  will 
not  take  up  arms  against  us  until  regularly  exchanged." 

This  promise  was  given ;  and  the  young  man  took  his 
leave,  feigning,  or  really  feeling,  a  regret  which  I  believe 
prevails  at  the  South,  that  no  dishonor  leaves  so  deep  a 
stain  as  that  of  refusing  one's  life,  if  need  be,  in  the  war. 

It  was  a  most  unfounded  statement  that  the  South  hated 
slavery,  that  they  always  had  hated  it,  and  would  have 
abolished  it  long  ago  but  for  the  Northern  Abolition  party. 
That  lie  is  tracked  to  its  lair  at  all  events,  and  not  the 
most  stupid  of  the  Democracy  dares  say  that  now.  "  Hated 
slavery  ! "  They  loved  it.  •  To  them  it  was  the  foundation 
of  their  social  system ;  it  was  the  right  of  knighthood  to  a 
benighted  race;  it  was  a  black  idol  to  which  the  South 
clung,  and  for  which  they  fought.  Though  it  offended 
every  moral  sentiment,  it  appealed  to  every  passion  within 
their  breasts,  —  to  cupidity,  to  ease  and  indolence,  and  to 
self-adulation.  They  were  the  chivalry,  because  their 


100  A  WAR  DIARY. 

retainers  were  crushed  into  submission.  And  there  were 
men  and  women  in  the  North  who  approved  this  state  of 
things.  Near  me  at  this  time  was  one  of  those  specimens 
of  Northern  chivalry  of  Southern  manufacture,  —  a  New 
York  schoolmaster  who  had  married  a  rich  Virginian  lady, 
and  adopted  the  sentiments  of  the  chivalry.  The  school 
master's  wife  smiled  upon  me  graciously  as  she  hugged 
her  baby  to  her  breast,  and  turned  its  bright  eyes  from  the 
cannon  and  infantry,  which  I  had  just  been  inspecting  in 
the  front  yard,  towards  the  desolation  and  destruction 
that  surrounded  her;  and  the  pretty  baby  laughed,  all 
unconscious  that  a  great  drama  was  being  enacted  there. 
The  father,  who  had  been  in  the  Eebel  service  as  a  con 
script,  looked  gloomily  and  morosely  out  of  gold-bowed 
spectacles,  as  he  spoke  of  the  bitterness  which  this  war 
was  creating  between  the  two  parts  of  the  country.  "  Not 
among  the  soldiers,"  I  replied.  "  The  spirit  of  a  true  chiv 
alry  is  opposed  to  hatred.  An  open  enemy  who  accepts 
the  wager  of  battle  is  not  the  foe  who  invites  implacable 
hatred  to  his  breast.  Where  honorable  feeling  is  gone,  and 
where  the  chivalric  heart  is  lost ;  where  courage  has  fled, 
and  desire  for  gain  stronger  than  honor  possesses  the  craven 
soul,  —  there  p,  deep  and  lasting  bitterness  is  found." 

"  You  may  be  right,"  assented  the  teacher. 

"  And  do  you  not  know,"  I  continued,  "  that  most  strin 
gent  orders  alone  prevent  the  soldiers  of  the  two  armies 
from  manifesting  fraternal  feeling  ?  Do  they  not  even 
now  talk  together  across  the  Eappahannock,  and  come 
together  around  the  same  camp-fire  ?  Have  they  not  on 
the  battle-field,  after  the  fight,  tenderly  cared  for  each 
other's  wounded  ?  It  is  only  among  those  whose  souls  are 
dried  up  by  ambition  and  falsehood,  —  politicians,  editors  of 
Eichmond  newspapers,  Jefferson  Davis,  Toombs,  Brecken- 
ridge,  and  Judah  P.  Benjamin, — it  is  only  among  such  that 


ON   THE  .PENINSULA-.  101 

hatred  and  animosity  are  to  be  found.  And  now,"  I  went 
on,  "let  me  make  the  prediction,  that  the  Northern  and 
Southern  States  cannot  be  separated ;  that  we  shall  again 
be  united  as  never  before  in  such  close  relations ;  that 
there  will  be  no  confiscation  of  your  property,  if  you  will 
return  to  your  allegiance,  or  even  manifest  your  willingness 
to  do  so.  Call  a  convention,  take  yourselves  out  from 
under  the  dominion  of  rich  task-masters  (your  masters  as 
well  as  your  slaves'  masters),  ask  our  good  and  kind  Presi 
dent's  permission  to  come  back  with  protection  for  your 
selves  and  your  property,  and  the  war  will  cease.  But  you 
shall  not  destroy  this  Government ;  you  shall  not  divide 
this  Union." 

I  left  my  New  York  friend  and  returned  to  my  honest  (!) 
landlady,  to  find  that,  during  my  absence  and  before  my 
arrival  at  his  house,  the  New  York  schoolmaster  and  his 
rebellious  family  had  expressed  a  wish  for  an  interview. 
"I  have  had  one,"  I  replied.  "They  feel  a  very  strong 
affection  for  you,"  said  my  viper  landlady.  Doubtless,  I 
thought. 

The  morning  of  the  18th  of  June  opened  with  appeals 
for  help  and  for  mercy.  "Two  ladies  wish  to  see  you, 
General,"  says  my  landlord.  "  Let  them  enter,"  I  replied. 
Tears  !  tears  !  it  is  the  old  story. 

"  My  house  was  burned  yesterday,  sir,  by  some  of  your 
soldiers,  and  my  two  colts,  all  I  have  to  use,  taken  away. 
We  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  firing ;  we  were 
away  from  home  at  the  time.  Now,  we  are  destitute." 

"  What  firing  ? "  I  asked. 

"  The  firing  upon  your  soldiers." 

So  !  so  !  I  reflected  for  a  moment ;  then  replied,  "  Your 
house  is  near  the  spot  where  my  men  were  murdered  by 
guerillas  ? "  • 

"  Yes ;  but  we  were  absent  at  the  time,  trying  to  get 


102  'A  WAK'1>IARY. 

through  your  lines  to  come  home,  and  you  would  not  give 
us  a  pass." 

"  Why,"  said  the  second  speaker,  "  are  we  treated  worse 
than  any  other  family  around  here  ?  " 

"  Are  you  ? "  I  said. 

"  Yes ;  we  have  no  protector.  My  aged  father  is  insulted, 
all  our  servants  are  enticed  away,  and  our  wheat-fields 
trampled  down.  I  see  no  hope  for  us." 

Those  Dutch  soldiers  did  not  mean  to  be  altogether 
cheated  out  of  this  hanging,  I  thought  to  myself ;  and  they 
or  their  comrades  have  accepted  this  conflagration  as  a 
compensation.  The  absence  of  the  family  has  given  this 
house  all  the  more  a  suspicious  appearance.  "  If  my  men 
are  murdered  by  your  people  firing  from  your  houses,"  I 
said  aloud,  "  you  may  thank  your  Maker  that  it  is  only 
your  house  that  is  destroyed.  And  now  let  me  encourage 
you  still  further,  —  but  first  I  will  send  for  your  colts,  and 
you  shall  have  them.  Why  do  you  complain  ?  Is  war 
anything  but  desolation  ?  And  are  not  you  responsible  ? 
Did  you  think  you  could  bring  us  among  you ;  inflame  us 
by  resistance  to  lawful  authority,  by  continued  attempts 
to  destroy  our  Government,  —  and  all  this  without  any 
suffering  to  yourselves  ? " 

"  What  is  our  remedy  ? "  they  asked. 

"  Stop  this  war,"  I  replied. 

"  How  ?  "  said  one  of  them. 

"  Go  with  your  husbands,  your  brothers,  and  your  chil 
dren  to  your  tyrant  at  Eichmoud,"  I  replied;  "and  ask 
him  if  this  is  the  protection  his  model  Government  affords ; 
this  the  happy  land  to  which  Secession  invited  its  dupes  ; 
if  these  are  the  blessings,  these  the  hopes,  you  were  invited 
to  partake  ? " 

"  And  what  good  would  that  do  ? "  said  the  first  speaker. 

"  If  none,  then  go  north,  go  south ;   get  together  and 


ON   THE  PENINSULA.  103 

influence  your  people  to  come  back  to  the  Constitution  of 
their  country;  to  lay  down  their  arms, — and  then  you  can 
have  peace." 

"  But  I  am  afraid  we  cannot  do  it,"  said  my  scowling 
landlord,  who  with  his  wife,  in  seeming  tearful  inquiry, 
were  listeners.  "  I  think  our  people  will  fight  until  not  a 
single  man  is  left." 

I  know  one,  I  thought,  that  will  be  left,  as  I  gazed  into 
his  quailing  eye ;  but  I  replied :  "  Then  go  on.  The  North 
ern  people  never  will  give  up  this  contest ;  they  are  fighting 
for  their  country.  Take  what  course  you  choose.  To-day 
I  will  help  you  and  protect  you,  for  I  am  in  command ; 
but  I  cannot  answer  for  to-morrow." 

In  sorrow  and  in  suffering  these  destitute  supporters  of 
a  Eebel  cause  went  out  to  the  burning  embers  of  all  that 
was  left  of  home. 

In  forward  movements  of  cavalry  to  New  Kent  Court- 
House,  and  in  the  occupation  of  Barhamsville,  I  found  that 
seizures  of  suspected  persons  became  more  numerous,  and 
my  duty  more  painful  as  I  extended  my  lines.  In  a  long 
batch  of  prisoners,  white  and  colored,  melting  under  this 
hot  sun  at  twelve  noon,  with  his  face  flushed,  coat  on  arm, 
trembling  with  unusual  exertion  and  from  advancing  age, 
here  is  that  most  respectable  functionary  the  village  doc 
tor,  puffing  under  a  tramp  of  ten  weary  and  dusty  miles. 
With  many  others  suspected  and  captured  he  has  been  sent 
down  from  Diascund  Bridge  by  Colonel  Porter,  and  with 
the  rest  he  would  have  been  marched  off  to  Yorktown  had 
not  my  attention  been  aroused  by,  "  There  goes  our  doc 
tor,"  from  my  lynx-eyed  landlady.  "Stop  those  prison 
ers  ! "  I  said  to  the  orderly.  "  Send  the  doctor  to  me." 

"  Your  name,  sir  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Doctor  Hubbard  is  my  name,  sir  !  " 

"  How  long  have  you  been  a  prisoner  ? " 


104  A   WAR   DIARY. 

"  I  was  arrested  some  four  days  ago,  sir ! " 

"  For  what  act  were  you  arrested  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know  ! " 

"  Where  were  you  arrested  ? " 

"  On  the  road  to  Diascund  Bridge ! " 

"  Where  were  you  going  ?  " 

"  I  was  visiting  my  patients,  sir,  and  came  suddenly 
upon  your  troops.  I  did  not  know  until  then  that  you 
were  in  this  part  of  the  country." 

(That  speaks  well  for  the  secrecy  of  our  movement,  I 
thought.)  "  Were  you  on  horseback  ?  " 

"  I  was,  sir." 

"  Where  is  your  horse  ?  " 

"  Colonel  Porter  put  his  colored  servant  on  him,  and 
made  me  travel  on  foot  for  the  last  four  days." 

"  Do  you  not  know  why  you  were  arrested,  or  what  sus 
picions  attach  to  you  ? " 

"  I  do  not,  unless  from  the  fact  that  my  horse  was  cov 
ered  with  sweat,  and  that  I  was  riding  rapidly." 

"  Why  were  you  riding  rapidly  ?  " 

"  Well,  sir,  my  son  was  wounded,  and  is  concealed.  I 
had  been  visiting  him  as  his  father  and  his  physician." 

"  Is  your  son  in  the  Rebel  army  ?  " 

"  He  is  in  the  Confederate  army." 

"  Where  was  he  wounded  ?  " 

"  In  a  fight  with  your  men." 

"  Where  is  he  concealed  ?  " 

"  You  will  excuse  me,  General,  if  I  do  not  tell  you." 

"  Yes,  I  will.  I  will  not  insist  on  an  answer  from  a  father. 
Your  family,  Doctor,  feel  much  distress  at  your  absence. 
I  received  a  note  from  your  wife  yesterday,  in  which  she 
begs  me  to  release  you ;  and  I  shall  release  you,  upon  your 
parole  that  you  will  not  communicate  any  information  you 
may  receive  of  my  movements  to  the  enemy." 


ON   THE   PENINSULA.  105 

"  My  sons,  sir,  —  I  have  two  in  the  army,"  —  replied  the 
doctor,  "  went  into  service  without  my  consent ;  public 
opinion  drove  them  in." 

"  You  may  go  home,  Doctor ;  but  you  carry  with  you  the 
consciousness  that  if  you  have  in  any  manner,  by  word  or 
otherwise,  aided  this  rebellion,  you  are  now  reaping  the 
fruits  of  your  labor." 

"  I  have  tried  to  remain  loyal,"  replied  the  doctor.  "  But 
loyalty  to  you  is  disloyalty  to  Virginia ;  and  I  suffer  from 
one  or  the  other." 

"  Suffer  then,  sir,  for  the  right,"  I  replied ;  "  and  you  will 
then  know  that  in  being  loyal  to  your  Government  and  to 
my  Government,  you  are  not  disloyal  to  Virginia." 

"  We  would  remain  quiet,"  responded  the  doctor ;  "  but 
Jefferson  Davis  is  deaf  to  our  entreaties  to  allow  us  to  re 
main  quiet.  He  refuses  to  take  away  the  men  who  skulk 
in  the  bushes  and  kill  your  soldiers.  Though  I  have  tried 
to  remain  loyal,  my  servants  have  been  taken  away  by 
your  troops ;  and  I  understood  that  President  Lincoln 
gave  assurances  to  those  who  remained  loyal,  that  their 
slaves  should  be  secured  to  them." 

"  Yes  ;  but  the  proof  of  your  loyalty,"  I  replied,  "  was  to 
consist  in  your  electing  a  Union  member  of  Congress  from 
your  district.  This  was  done  in  Norfolk,  and  there  the 
proclamation  frees  no  slave.  The  strongest  evidence  of 
loyalty  in  any  Southern  district  was  to  be  found  —  so 
reasoned  the  President  —  in  the  election  of  a  Union  man 
to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States ;  and,  on  such  proof, 
their  slaves  were  to  be  as  free  from  interference  under 
the  proclamation  as  is  the  personal  property  of  citizens  of 
Massachusetts." 

"  I  was  not  aware  of  that,"  replied  Doctor  Hubbard,  mus 
ing  for  a  moment,  and  then  continuing  with,  "  Well,  then, 
all  we  can  do  now  is  to  remain  quiet  at  home ;  and  I 


106  A  WAR  DIARY. 

pledge  you  my  word  that  your  confidence  in  me  is  not 
misplaced." 

"  Before  you  leave,  Doctor,  I  commend  to  you  this  subject 
for  reflection  :  Whether  the  occupation  of  your  country  by 
our  armies  does  not  free  your  slaves  in  fact." 

"  How  can  that  be,  General  ? " 

"  By  martial  law,  under  which  we  take  your  corn,  your 
horses,  your  cows,  —  your  everything  essential  to  our  sal 
vation  and  your  destruction.  Thus  your  slaves  are  taken ; 
and  once  taken,  they  are  free ;  and  once  free,  they  can 
never  be  enslaved.  Our  martial  law  does  not  enslave,  it 
frees." 

"  Do  you  think  this  is  possible  without  special  procla 
mation  ? " 

"  Undoubtedly  it  is ;  and  so  I  have  always  administered 
the  law  martial,  long  before  the  President's  proclamation  ; 
calling  slaves  together  wherever  found  in  a  State  in  rebel 
lion,  and  freeing  them  as  an  act  essential  to  our  own  pres 
ervation.  My  immediate  commander,  or  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  could  have  countermanded  my  orders 
and  remanded  slaves  to  their  masters ;  but  he  did  not  do 
so." 

"  But  you  say  the  proclamation  frees  no  slave  in  Nor 
folk?" 

"  Nor  did  it,"  I  replied.  "  It  did  not  in  the  President's 
view,  because  he  found  there  in  the  election  his  proof  of 
loyalty ;  and  it  did  not  in  mine,  because  there  were  no 
slaves  there  for  the  proclamation  to  operate  upon  :  they 
were  freed  men  when  General  Wool  marched  into  Norfolk 
at  the  head  of  his  army  of  occupation." 

"  Then  what  was  the  use  of  the  President's  proclama 
tion  ? "  inquired  the  doctor. 

"  In  my  view,  sir,"  I  replied,  "  it  was  to  tell  the  slave 
that  whenever  and  wherever  the  solid  foot  of  Union  troops 


ON   THE   PENINSULA.  107 

is  planted  in  the  South  he  is  forever  free ;  to  teach  him 
that,  in  addition  to  withholding  all  aid  from  his  master,  he 
should  give  every  assistance  to  the  onward  march  of  Union 
troops ;  that  he  should  go  to  the  Northern  armies  if  he 
could ;  if  not,  that  he  should  aid  in  getting  the  Northern 
armies  to  come  to  him ;  and  that  in  either  case  freedom 
followed.  It  was  to  tell  you  Southern  people  that  your 
longer  continuance  in  this  wicked  rebellion  would  destroy 
the  very  institution  which  caused  you  to  rebel.  And  more 
than  this,  it  was  to  notify  the  civilized  world  that  our  war 
was  a  war  for  freedom.  You  are  at  liberty  to  go  when  you 
please.  Think  on  this  subject.  Since  General  McClellan 
marched  through  here  there  have  been  no  slaves  among 
you ;  and  may  you  live  long  enough  to  thank  the  Govern 
ment  that  sent  General  McClellan." 

Hardly  had  the  doctor  turned  his  face  homeward,  when 
more  cries  for  help  were  poured  into  my  ears.  "  General, 
my  sister's  son  has  been  arrested,"  comes  from  my  com 
plaining  hostess ;  and  before  I  can  inquire  of  the  matter  a 
Mr.  Taylor,  following  close  upon  her  heels,  wails  out, 
"  General,  my  last  horse  has  been  taken."  Bringing  up  the 
rear,  I  acknowledge  the  salutation  of  the  New  York  school 
master,  who  discourseth  of  his  continuing  woes  with, 
"  General,  I  have  got  my  horse  ;  but  I  can't  take  him  home 
without  your  consent."  This  woe-begone  countenance  has 
the  precedence,  and  I  listen  while  the  translated  New 
Yorker  pleads :  "  I  know  I  am  an  object  of  suspicion 
among  your  soldiers,  but  I  am  almost  distracted  at  the 
losses  my  family  are  suffering.  My  wife's  parents  are  old 
and  feeble,  and  would  not  survive  removal  from  their 
homes  ;  we  remain  here,  therefore,  on  their  account.  Our 
fences  are  destroyed,  our  fields  are  open  to  your  horses  and 
mules,  and  they  destroy  our  wheat  and  corn.  Nor  are 
these  the  worst  of  the  evils  we  are  called  upon  to  endure ; 


108  A  WAR  DIARY. 

our  servants  are  enticed  away  from  our  house ;  we  have 
not  one  left  to  help  us." 

"  What ! "  I  interrupted,  "  in  what  manner  or  by  whom 
were  your  servants  enticed  from  your  house  ? " 

"They  left  us  with  regret,  sir,"  was  the  reply;  "the 
women  embraced  my  wife  before  leaving." 

"  Did  not  your  father-in-law,"  I  answered,  "  appeal  to  me 
a  day  or  two  ago,  in  the  presence  of  these  very  slaves,  who, 
having  loaded  his  only  cart  with  their  bundles  and  their 
rags,  had  attached  to  it  a  sorry-looking  horse  picked  up  by 
the  wayside,  and  proceeded  thus  to  sever  the  pleasant  and 
affectionate  ties  which  bound  them  to  your  household  ? " 

"  I  did  not  know  of  this,"  replied  the  schoolmaster. 

"  Well,  sir,  then  I  will  tell  you,"  I  continued,  "  that  your 
aged  relative  invoked  my  aid  to  compel  his  negroes  to  re 
turn,  for  his  appeal  to  them  had  been  unheeded ;  but  that 
they  absolutely  refused  either  to  return  themselves,  or  to 
restore  the  cart  which  they  had  abandoned,  choosing  rather 
to  pack  their  ragged  bundles  on  their  own  shoulders,  leav 
ing  their  gray-haired  master  to  hitch  himself  into  the 
vehicle,  if  he  were  so  disposed.  This  episode  I  witnessed, 
sir ;  and  in  it  there  was  no  enticing  and  no  embraces  of 
affection." 

"  Well,  sir,"  replied  the  schoolmaster,  "we  ask  for  and  must 
rely  upon  your  protection ;  so  powerless  am  I  and  so  dis 
tracted  at  times,  that  I  fear  I  am  not  in  my  right  mind." 

It  was  indeed  hard  to  sit  quiet,  listening  to  these  monot 
onous  complaints,  while  I  knew  that  Lee  was  advancing  to 
invade  Pennsylvania,  and  to  remain  in  this  miserable  Pen 
insula  while  there  was  hard  work  about  to  begin  for  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  One  would  rather  be  part  of  the 
host  that  was  to  meet  Lee,  than  be  adjudicating  on  this 
man's  cow,  that  one's  mule,  and  another's  pigs. 

The  morning  of  the  18th  of  June  brought  with  it  hopes 


ON  THE   PENINSULA.  109 

of  our  movement ;  feeble  to  be  sure,  yet  hopes.  They  were 
sent  in  cipher  by  General  Dix  to  Keyes  at  Yorktown,  and 
communicated  to  me  there  while  I  was  laying  the  facts  of 
our  discomforts  —  being  as  yet  without  our  tents  and  camp 
property  —  before  the  commanding  general.  As  nearly  as 
could  be  deciphered,  the  despatch  directed  me  to  remain 
where  I  was  and  to  make  my  troops  comfortable;  at  the 
same  time  intimating  that  a  movement  towards  Eichniond 
in  our  direction,  during  the  absence  of  Lee's  army,  was  not 
improbable.  Whether  Dix  had  men  enough  to  make  such 
a  campaign  with  success ;  whether  Lee  was  the  man  to 
leave  the  gates  of  Richmond  open  wide  enough  to  drive  all 
the  cows  in,  while  he  was  absent  on  an  invasion  of  the 
North,  —  I  could  only  surmise.  I  learned,  however,  from 
a  batch  of  Northern  papers,  that  General  Lee  was  frighten 
ing  the  Northern  people  prodigiously,  and  teaching  Penn 
sylvania  in  particular  that  a  proper  military  organization 
within  its  own  limits  is  at  all  times  essential  for  its  own 
safety.  In  compliance  with  the  order  to  make  ourselves 
comfortable,  I  sent  to  the  front  the  tents  of  our  deserted 
encampment,  from  which  we  had  marched  one  week  before, 
with  the  expectation  that  we  should  return  there  in  four- 
and-twenty  hours. 

Behind  the  Blue  Eidge,  with  its  passes  under  his  control, 
Lee  has  no  apprehension  for  his  flank ;  and  he  may  look 
with  scornful  indifference  at  the  empty  and  idle  steamboats 
on  the  Potomac,  while  his  guns  are  booming  at  Winchester 
and  at  Martinsburg,  at  Hagerstown  and  at  Chambersburg. 
Oh,  Winchester,  Martinsburg,  and  Bull  Eun !  days  of  Patter 
son,  of  Banks,  and  of  McDowell !  The  Winchester  of  1861, 
of  1862,  and  of  1863 ;  the  Winchester  that  Patterson  did 
not  attack,  that  Banks  did  not  defend,  now  sacred  to  the 
memory  of  Milroy  !  And  you,  Bull  Eun,  with  your  bloody 
and  disgraceful  prelude,  your  afterpiece  of  incompetency 


110  A  WAR  DIARY. 

and  imbecility !  To  watch  wasted  lands  and  empty  barns 
at  Twelve-Mile  Ordinary  in  Virginia,  while  the  Eebel  army 
tramped  through  the  fat  grain-fields,  luscious  orchards,  and 
plethoric  stables  of  Pennsylvania ;  to  grumble  about  shelter- 
tents  and  bushwhackers  while  Lee  was  marching  into  the 
heart  of  our  country,  —  this  furnished  now  the  sole  occu 
pation  of  as  brave  and  well-disciplined  a  body  of  troops  as 
could  be  found  in  any  corps  in  the  Union  army. 

And  still  rumor  with  its  hundred  tongues  assailed  us 
daily.  From  the  19th  to  the  21st  of  June,  the  camps  were 
filled  with  reports  that  reinforcements  were  on  the  way 
from  Yorktown,  for  a  forward  march  towards  Richmond. 
In  the  mean  time  scurvy  warned  us  that  our  rations  were 
unwholesome,  and  that  we  were  not  properly  sheltered  at 
night  from  the  wet  and  cold.  And  yet  we  could  not  com 
plain  ;  for  it  often  happens  to  others  as  it  did  to  us,  that, 
accoutred  as  we  started  for  a  single  day,  we  had  been 
compelled  to  remain  since  the  llth  of  June  without  one 
tent  for  cover,  and  with  only  hard  bread  and  salt  meat  for 
food. 

There  was,  however,  no  intermission  to  the  usual  reports 
and  complaints.  Bushwhackers  in  ambush  still  fired  on 
and  murdered  my  patrols,  and  there  were  no  houses  near 
to  burn  in  retribution.  Indignant  young  women,  with 
blooming  faces  and  oscillating  curls,  continued  to  alight 
with  considerable  vigor  from  antiquated  vehicles,  and  plead 
with  me  for  a  pass  for  a  slave,  or  for  a  mule.  Another 
addressed  me  with  impudent  composure,  demanding  a 
permit  to  go  to  a  house  near  Hickory  Church,  within 
a  mile  of  Burnt  Ordinary,  and,  although  a  suppliant, 
exclaimed  that  it  surprised  her  "  to  see  my  soldiers  here 
again." 

"  Don't  you  like  to  see  them  ? "  I  said. 

"  Of  course  not,"  was  the  reply. 


ON   THE  PENINSULA.  Ill 

"  Why  not  ? " 

"  Why  not  ?  Why,  because,"  —  looking  around  as  if  to 
frame  a  reply  as  crushingly  frivolous  as  my  question,  — 
"  because  I  don't  like  to  see  sheep  in  the  front  door-yard." 
This  was  uttered  with  an  indignant  glance  at  half-a-dozen 
lean  and  scrawny  animals,  grazing  within  the  bounds  of  a 
rickety  and  tumble-down  fence,  which  was  called  the  yard 
of  the  adjacent  house. 

I  was  not  inclined  to  a  war  of  words  with  this  resentful 
female  ;  nor  had  I  the  opportunity  even  if  inclined,  for  she 
bounced  with  her  last  word  into  her  carriage,  and  drove 
wrathfully  away. 

Rumors  of  Lee's  movements,  with  dire  accompaniments 
of  raids  into  Pennsylvania,  now  came  thick  and  fast.  We 
heard  of  State  militia  deserting  their  ranks  and  going  home 
rather  than  submit  to  be  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  for  this  emergency,  leaving  the  defence  of  their  own 
State  to  troops  rapidly  arriving  from  New  York  and  New 
Jersey.  Meanwhile  we  received  orders  from  Fort  Magru- 
der  to  prepare  to  march  with  rations  for  five  days,  and  my 
command  was  increased  by  two  brigades.  This  left  but 
little  doubt  that  we  were  to  march  on  Richmond;  and  it 
was  welcome  news  after  the  petty  details  of  complainings 
pouring  in  faster  and  more  appealingly  as  the  hour  of  our 
departure  approached.  Orders  from  General  Dix  to  prepare 
to  make  the  expected  movement  the  next  morning  so  over 
shadowed  an  imploring  letter  from  a  Virginian  for  the  re 
turn  of  his  mules,  as  the  only  means  he  had  of  cultivating 
his  land  and  keeping  from  distress  and  starvation  a  large 
family,  that  I  could  not  "  make  his  case  my  own,"  nor 
help  him  as  he  appealed  to  me  to  do. 

There  had  as  yet  been  but  five  hours  of  daylight,  and  I 
had  been  overwhelmed  with  cares,  when  General  Keyes 
with  an  imposing  staff  arrived  from  Yorktown,  to  be  in 


112  A  WAR  DIARY. 

readiness  to  move  his  command  on  the  contemplated  expe 
dition.  The  number  of  tents  in  my  "  front  yard  "  was  in 
creased  ;  and  there  was  an  increased  number  of  occupants 
of  floors  within  the  house.  A  great  array  of  orderlies' 
horses  tied  to  my  tumble-down  fence,  and  a  large  squad  of 
cavalry  picketed  near  by,  announced  to  my  landlord  and 
his  wife  that  new  draughts  were  to  be  made  upon  their 
hospitality  for  one  night's  lodging  at  least.  It  happened 
that  this  very  night  had  been  appointed  for  the  attempt  to 
capture  me,  to  which  I  have  referred.  A  gang  of  Confed 
erates,  concealed  in  the  woods  at  a  convenient  distance 
from  the  house,  were  at  midnight  to  be  guided  to  my  apart 
ment  by  my  amiable  hosts ;  silently  and  expeditiously  they 
were  to  overpower  the  few  guards  around  my  headquarters, 
seize  myself  and  staff,  and  make  their  escape  before  the 
troops,  who  were  encamped  perhaps  four  hundred  yards 
to  the  rear,  were  aware  of  their  presence.  That  this  plan 
existed,  and  would  have  been  attempted  but  for  the  large 
increase  of  my  ordinary  guards  by  the  escort  attending 
General  Keyes,  was  made  known  to  me  when  my  landlord 
and  his  wife  were  not  in  my  power ;  but  its  existence  was 
also  revealed  by  the  wife  herself,  who  imparted  it  to  her 
neighbors,  a  loyal  family  who  congratulated  me  on  my  es 
cape,  and  assured  me  of  the  truth  of  the  story,  while  I  rested 
a  moment  at  their  house  on  my  return  to  Yorktown.  But 
if  the  increased  force  had  not  deterred  them,  the  result 
might  not  have  been  a  success.  The  scowling  faces  of  my 
hosts,  their  too  frequent  application  to  go  to  a  mill  outside 
the  picket  line,  the  captured  uniforms  and  the  skulking 
Rebel  in  the  woods,  —  all  these  had  aroused  my  suspicions  ; 
and  I  had  laid  snares  and  pitfalls  for  prowling  Eebels  little 
dreamed  of  by  them. 

The  day  wore  on,  and  night  came,  —  one  of  refreshment, 
I  had  promised  myself,  for  the  morrow's  work,  —  when  a 


ON  THE  PENINSULA.  113 

new  batch  of  prisoners  (among  them  a  Doctor  S ,  just 

from  Richmond,  captured  as  he  was  attempting  to  pass  my 
pickets  at  Diascund  Bridge)  was  brought  in.  The  doctor 
talked  hopefully  of  the  "  independence  of  the  South ; "  of 
"General  Lee's  great  victory  at  Winchester;"  of  the  im 
possibility  of  "  Union  again ; "  of  the  "  fine  clothing  and 
equipment  of  the  Southern  army ; "  of  the  more  "  perfect 
liberty  at  the  South  than  at  the  North ; "  and  firmly,  but 
with  some  show  of  modesty,  asserted  as  his  opinion  that 
"  success  would  crown  Southern  effort  at  last."  This  pre 
cious  specimen  of  Southern  chivalry  showed  as  bad  a  face 
as  I  had  seen  for  many  a  day,  and  if  I  could  read  his  soul 
through  such  a  villanous  titlepage,  he  would  do  harm  if 
he  could. 

"  Where  shall  I  sleep  ? "  he  asked. 

"  On  the  floor  if  you  like." 

"  I  have  no  bedding." 

"  Do  you  know  the  owner  of  this  house  ? " 

"  Oh,  yes." 

"  Then  awaken  him  and  get  bedding :  I  will  dispose  of 
you  in  the  morning." 

The  landlord  cheerfully  recognized  my  prisoner,  and  sup 
plied  him  with  blankets,  on  which  he  slept,  but  carefully 
watched  by  a  guard  which  I  appointed  for  that  special 
purpose.  To  find  the  doctor  at  an  early  hour  the  next 
morning  in  close  communication  with  my  landlord  did  not 
surprise  me ;  nor  did  it,  to  learn  that  he*  had  been  taking 
notes  of  the  numbers  and  disposition  of  troops  around  him  ; 
neither  was  I  confounded  that  this  amiable  Rebel  had  been 
heard  to  declare  that  "  the  damned  Yankees  would  not 
have  taken  him  yesterday  if  he  had  had  a  gun  to  defend 
himself,"  although  when  taken  he  was  sneaking  off  in  a 
lamb-like  way.  But  all  this  did  not  operate  to  induce  me 
to  send  him  under  guard  to  Fortress  Monroe  as  a  prisoner 

8 


114  A  WAR  DIARY. 

so  much  as  his  bad  expression  and  his  determined  oppo 
sition  to  our  Government. 

"  Can't  I  speak  to  the  General  ? "  I  overheard  him  ask 
ing,  as  the  ambulance  door  closed  upon  him. 

"  No,  you  can't,"  was  the  reply  of  his  guard. 

"  He  talked  with  me  last  night  very  kindly,"  urged  the 
doctor. 

So  he  did,  I  said  inaudibly,  and  you  developed  your  in 
tentions  in  a  manner  quite  satisfactory  to  him. 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  June  we  were  to  advance 
to  Barhamsville.  It  was  in  considerable  gloom  that  we 
began  this  march.  Chancellors ville  and  Winchester  were 
fresh  in  our  memory, —  two  inexcusable  disasters,  following 
one  on  the  other's  heels,  and  giving  us  ample  food  for  seri 
ous  meditation.  And  then  who  should  be  intrusted  with 
the  command  of  our  armies  ?  In  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois 
armed  resistance  was  organizing  against  the  Conscription 
Act;  Hooker  was  inactive;  Lee  was  fortifying  in  Mary 
land, —  and  all  this  in  the  third  year  of  the  war.  Is  it 
strange  that  our  thoughts  were  serious  ? 


APPROACHING  RICHMOND.  115 


CHAPTEK  V. 

APPROACHING  RICHMOND.  —  WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE 
POTOMAC. 

IN  spite  of  all  the  vexations  of  starting,  every  com 
mander  of  troops  will  admit  that,  once  mounted  and 
on  the  march,  the  most  harassing  cares  give  place  to  buoy 
ancy  if  not  to  exuberance  of  spirits.  As  I  turned  my  face 
towards  Pdchmond,  I  responded  to  my  host's  farewell  and 
invitation,  "  Call  again,  General,"  with  at  least  a  seeming 
cordiality ;  and  greeted  almost  tenderly  the  good  Doctor 
Hubbard  as  he  came  to  express  his  regrets  at  our  depar 
ture,  and  to  make  one  more  effort  to  find  that  old  horse 
which  was  now  his  sole  reliance.  He  was  very  sad,  and 
I  gave  him  all  the  encouragement  I  could.  Again  I  bore 
a  brief  interruption  from  two  young  women,  who,  propelled 
in  a  tip-cart  by  a  single  donkey,  parleyed  with  me  about  a 
wagon  taken  by  somebody,  from  somewhere,  at  some  time. 
At  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  encamped  for  the 
night,  two  miles  beyond  Barhamsville.  It  rained  fiercely. 
The  men  were  in  the  woods ;  myself  and  staff  in  a  dirty 
and  empty  shanty  adjacent.  Keyes  occupied  the  best 
farm-house  in  the  neighborhood  ;  but  not  for  comfort,  —  it 
was  a  ruse.  "  Hush  ! "  he  uttered  in  bated  breath  ;  "  still  as 
death !  this  house  is  not  on  the  road  we  travel.  I  am  here 
to  deceive  the  enemy."  Those  who  have  always  lived  in 
comfort  can  have  but  a  faint  notion  of  the  pleasures  of  an 
encampment  at  the  end  of  a  day's  march,  even  in  tem 
pestuous  and  cheerless  weather.  The  feeling  with  which 
Old  Fifty-thousand-a-year  gazed  from  his  two-hundred- 


116  A  WAR  DIARY. 

thousand-dollar  mansion  with  a  passing  emotion  of  pity 
for  "  our  poor  soldiers  "  is  entirely  illusory.  Give  a  soldier 
wood  for  a  roaring  blaze,  dry  straw  for  a  bed  if  he  can  get 
it,  and  if  not,  then  hemlock  boughs,  and  if  neither,  then 
a  dry  spot  for  his  blanket ;  add  a  plentiful  supply  of 
rations,  —  and  your  true  soldier  will  find  cheer  where  to  a 
civilian  the  outlook  would  be  dark  and  forbidding.  Before 
a  merry  camp-fire  despondency  gives  place  to  levity,  dul- 
ness  to  animation ;  hopes  rise,  the  muscles  grow  hard,  the 
eye  brightens,  resolution  is  strengthened,  until  the  worn 
and  cheerless  soldier  who  threw  off  his  canteen,  cartridge- 
box,  and  haversack,  and  faded  into  a  sorry  heap,  becomes 
erect,  strong,  and  defiant.  All  this  is  born  of  food  and  fire, 
of  a  pipe  and  a  merry  group.  The  dripping  column  that 
toiled  heavily  on  its  march  from  Barbaras ville  on  the  25th 
of  June,  and  halted  in  front  of  a  dark  and  gloomy  wood 
for  the  night,  were  soon  transformed  into  happy  dwellers, 
peopling  the  silent  arches  of  the  forest  with  song,  or  filling 
its  dark  recesses  with  a  convivial  glow.  Soldiers,  too,  are 
mortal,  with  appetites  pertaining  to  mortality.  In  common 
with  races  less  civilized,  they  have  a  keen  instinct  for  food, 
though  they  do  not  enjoy  with  the  epicure  the  advantages 
of  Fulton  or  Quincy  market ;  hence,  inroads  on  chickens, 
hogs,  and  cattle  that  are  nurtured  on  sacred  soil,  and  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  situation  of  smoke  and  spring 
house.  Rank  commands  external  respect :  but  rank,  in 
common  with  the  lowest  station,  acknowledges  demands  of 
hunger ;  and  rank,  however  exalted,  will  fail  to  secure  the 
bounties  of  the  surrounding  country,  if  it  does  not  provide 
against  the  wandering  tribes  that  swarm  over  and  into 
every  hamlet  within  miles  of  the  march  of  a  column  of 
troops. 

It  was  a  pleasing  idea,  that  of  dinner,  as  I  watched  the 
leaping  blaze  from  my  camp-fire,  and  dried  wet  places  in 


APPROACHING  RICHMOND.  117 

my  clothing.  It  was  a  consoling  thought  that  I  had  sta 
tioned  a  sentinel  at  yonder  farm-house  to  protect  the 
dinner  which  the  owner  had  consented  to  prepare.  In 
contemplation  of  my  own  meal,  how  I  rejoiced  as  my  be 
loved  troops  were  preparing  theirs  !  To  see  them  crowding 
around  the  savory  messes,  to  know  that  they  were  well  fed 
and  happy,  was  delightful  indeed.  At  last  I  notified  my 
staff  that  we  would  visit  the  Elysian  fields  of  dinner. 

"  Which  is  the  house,  Mr. ?     Go  on,  and  show  us 

the  way." 

"  This  is  it,  hey  ?  I  admire  your  taste ;  it  is  the  best- 
looking  house  around  here;  and  it  was  very  prudent  in 
you,  too,  to  post  this  sentinel  at  the  door.  These  dqg-s 
of  soldiers  are  so  sharp." 

"  This  is  Doctor  Jones,  General,"  said  Mr.  ,  as  he 

introduced  a  gentlemanly  person  as  the  master  of  the 
mansion. 

"  Glad  to  see  you,  Doctor ;  we  have  come  to  dine  with 
you." 

"  Why,  General,  I  sent  your  dinner  to  you  more  than  an 
hour  ago." 

"Eh!  what?" 

"Did  n't  you  send  for  it  ?  " 

"  Send  for  it ! "  I  echoed,  feebly.  "  I  see  it  all !  Call  up 
that  sentinel.  Has  any  soldier  carried  off  a  dinner  while 
you  have  been  on  post  ? " 

"No,  sir!" 

"Did  any  dinner  walk  off  alone  in  your  presence  ?  " 

"  Did  n't  see  it,  sir." 

"  When  did  you  send  this  —  this  dinner,  Doctor  ? " 

"We  cooked  and  sent  it  as  quickly  as  possible  after 
your  arrival." 

"But  this  sentinel  was  posted  as  soon  as  we  arrived, 
was  he  not,  Mr. ?  "  I  said  to  my  aid. 


118  A  WAR  DIARY. 

"  I  did  n't  post  him  until  one  hour  after,"  replied  the 
conscience-stricken  officer. 

"And  before  he  appeared/'  said  the  doctor,  "a  soldier 
came  and  said  he  was  sent  by  the  General  to  bring  his 
dinner  to  him." 

"  General  who  ? " 

"  General  Gordon." 

"  May  that  dinner  choke  that  soldier ! "  I  muttered.  My 
aid  was  lost  in  meditation.  But  our  dinner,  —  ah,  our 
dinner  !  —  that  was  gone  forever  ! 

"  Doctor,  have  you  anything  left  to  eat  ? " 

"  I  am  afraid  not.  Three  chickens  were  cooked,  but  the 
soldiers  came  and  carried  them  away.  They  also  killed 
my  sitting  hens,  and  hens  with  chickens :  took  off  my  bee- 
hives,  and  ate  all  I  had  in  the  house.  So  you  will  have  a 
mighty  poor  dinner,  I  'm  afraid,  gentlemen." 

And  it  was  poor,  but  filling.  Though  the  hungry  officers 
were  not,  the  pickled  mangoes  were,  nicely  stuffed.  The 
doctor  favored  us  at  the  table  with  his  presence,  but  sev 
eral  young  ladies  concealed  in  upper  chambers,  brooding 
over  secession  and  nursing  hatred  to  Yankees,  did  not.  In 
a  short  after-dinner  conversation  my  host  declared  the 
Southern  belief  to  be  that  we  were  waging  this  war  for  their 
total  subjugation,  and  that  such  belief  rendered  it  impos 
sible  for  them  to  do  anything  but  fight.  He  thought  they 
would  come  back  to  the  Union  as  it  was,  if  we  would  con 
sent. 

"  Let  the  South,  in  good  faith,  ask  to  come  back,"  I  re 
plied,  "  and  then  we  will  see  what  shall  be  done  with  the 
subject  that  caused  you  to  rebel." 

"  Were  you  not  in  command  at  West  Point  a  few  days 
ago  ? "  inquired  the  doctor. 

"I  was!" 

"I  think  you  were  right  lucky  to  get  away  as  you  did ; 


APPROACHING  RICHMOND.  119 

we  think  you  were  smart  about  it.  The  plan  was  this : 
you  were  to  have  been  attacked  in  force  in  a  day  or  two. 
The  whole  of  Pickett's  division,  save  one  brigade  which  was 
to  attack  you  in  front,  was  to  go  down  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Mattapony,  and  had  started  for  that  destination  with 
three  siege-pieces,  thirty-two-pounders.  They  were  to 
take  strong  positions  within  shelling  distance  of  your 
carnp,  and  with  the  co-operation  of  the  force  under  General 
Wise,  acting  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Pamunkey,  were  to 
shut  up  the  York  River  and  prevent  any  aid  coming  to 
you  from  that  direction.  You  were  to  be  attacked  in  front 
with  infantry,  and  shelled  from  both  shores  with  artillery." 

"  Then  I  was  fortunate  to  get  away  as  I  did  ? " 

"  Yes  ;  we  think  it  was  a  right  smart  thing  in  you  to  get 
off  as  you  did ;  but  they  laugh  at  Old  Wise  a  great  deal 
for  letting  you  escape." 

"  I  never  could  account,"  I  replied,  "  for  the  remissness 
of  your  commanders  in  allowing  me  to  embark  my  troops 
without  taking  advantage  of  my  defenceless  situation.  For 
more  than  twenty-four  hours  I  was  packing  my  men  in 
steamboats,  which  were  lying  at  the  wharf  crowded  with 
troops,  within  musket  range  of  Eebel  batteries,  or  where 
I  supposed  Rebel  batteries  might  be." 

"  Well,  they  were  there  !  And  Wise  should  have  opened 
upon  you ;  but  he  had  orders  to  await  the  first  gun  from 
Pickett's  batteries  ;  and  that  signal  not  being  given,  he  did 
not  open  fire,  as  he  should  have  done." 

"  Did  he  know  I  was  embarking  my  troops  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Oh,  yes ;  he  knew  it  about  the  middle  of  the  first  night 
of  your  embarkation.  We  have  not  stopped  laughing  at 
him  since  for  allowing  you  to  get  away." 

"Then  you  don't  think  much  of  Old  Wise  as  a 
soldier  ? " 

"  No ;  his  brigade  is  called  the  '  life-insurance  brigade ; ' 


120  A  WAR  DIAKY. 

his  men  are  seldom  in  danger.  But  you  would  have  lost 
right  smartly,  if  you  had  delayed  going  any  longer." 

The  doctor  spoke  in  praise  of  General  McClellan,  urg 
ing  that  the  South  thought  him  our  ablest  general.  Did 
I  think  he  would  be  the  next  President  ?  the  doctor  asked. 
Evading  this  question,  I  asked  what  the  South  thought  of 
Ben  Butler,  and  if  they  would  hang  him  if  they  could  catch 
him. 

"  They  would  ! "  he  replied. 

"  You  do  not  like  him  much,  then  ? " 

"  Do  you  approve  his  course  ? "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  He  has  been  charged  with  much  that  is  untrue/'  I  an 
swered  ;  "  and  yet  he  voted,  I  believe,  sixty  times  for  Jef 
ferson  Davis  at  the  Charleston  Convention.  Is  it  for  this 
that  Davis  sets  a  price  on  his  head  ?  If  so,  there  are  some 
grounds  for  believing  that  the  North  would  agree  with  the 
South  in  thinking  that  he  ought  to  be  hanged." 

Our  conversation  ended  here,  and  we  parted  with,  I 
trust,  mutual  respect.  I  know  of  but  few  men,  Northern 
or  Southern  born,  who  would  have  been  so  amiable  or  so 
considerate  under  such  trying  circumstances. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  June  the  reveille  sounded 
at  the  faintest  glimmer  of  day,  and  soon  after  the  troops 
filed  into  the  road  ready  for  a  sixteen-mile  march  to  Cum 
berland  Landing.  A  drizzling  rain,  making  everything 
wet  and  sticky,  cheerless  fires  expiring  in  abandoned 
camps,  the  gloom  of  an  indistinct  light,  the  stillness  of 
the  now  uninviting  forest,  —  all  these  dismally  contrasted 
with  last  night's  picture.  After  several  hours  of  dull 
tramping  we  came  to  a  small  group  of  houses,  to  which 
one  Slater,  the  occupant  of  the  most  conspicuous,  had  given 
the  unmelodious  name  of  Slatersville.  An  old  man  and 
woman,  and  two  rather  sprightly  daughters,  both  violent 
Kebels,  occupied  the  Slater  mansion.  A  guard  of  infantry 


APPROACHING  RICHMOND.  121 

from  a  preceding  division  had  prevented  the  usual  depre 
dations,  and  on  the  arrival  of  my  troops  a  new  guard  was 
substituted,  with  orders  to  join  the  rear  after  the  division 
had  passed.  A  few  moments  of  conversation  with  the  in 
mates  gave  the  old  woman  an  opportunity  to  inform  me 
that  we  "  were  fighting  the  flower  of  the  world  ;  the  flower 
of  the  world,  I  tell  ye."  This  she  repeated  as  she  puffed 
at  a  long-stemmed  pipe,  arid  exposed  her  yellow  teeth. 

"  You  think  so,  Ma  ! "  said  the  eldest  daughter,  who, 
though  much  excited,  declared  in  a  temperate  way  her 
firm  belief  in  the  right  of  secession.  "  I  am  tired  of  the 
war,"  she  continued,  "  but  I  had  rather  die  than  survive 
the  dishonor  of  losing  our  cause.  We  are  only  anxious 
to  be  let  alone.  We  wonder  that  you  want  people  to  live 
with  you  who  do  not  wish  to  do  so." 

"  We  will  gladly  let  you  alone,"  I  answered,  "  if  you  will 
acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the  Union,  lay  down  your 
arms,  and  behave  in  the  future  as  loyal  people  and  not, 
as  rebels." 

A  chorus  of  sneers  accompanied  a  chorus  of  indignant, 
ejaculations  in  response ;  among  which  I  caught  "  flower 
of  the  world  "  from  the  old  woman  ;  "  Hartford  Convention," 
she  believed  it  was,  from  the  elder  sister;  and  faint  echoes 
of  Virginia  "  saving  unto  herself  the  right  of  leaving  the 
Union  when  oppressed,"  from  the  old  man.  I  bade  them 
farewell,  with  assurances  of  freedom  from  molestation 
(their  eyes  brightened)  through  a  guard  of  Massachusetts 
troops  (their  eyes  fell),  and  exemption  from  punishment 
for  the  detection  in  their  house  of  a  telegraphic  wire 
communicating  with  Eichmond,  and  operated  through  an 
instrument  for  which  our  cavalry  made  a  vain  search,  — 
"  opening  my  trunk,  my  own  private  trunk,"  complained 
the  eldest  daughter. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  we  arrived  at  Cumberland,  and 


122  A  WAR  DIARY. 

met  General  Dix,  who  had  come  up  by  water  on  a  steam 
boat.  He  sent  for  me  immediately,  and  announced  his 
intention  of  moving  to-morrow  into  Eichmond.  Said 
the  General :  "  There  is  no  force  to  oppose  us ;  and  by 
a  rapid  movement  we  can  enter."  I  asked  how  many 
troops  he  had,  and  what  obstructions  he  would  meet ; 
as  also  what  force  of  the  enemy  he  would  probably  en 
counter.  We  were  soon  joined  by  Generals  Keyes  and 
Terry,  to  whom  the  commanding  general  made  known  his 
plans.  It  appeared  to  me  that  they  were  not  received  with 
favor ;  indeed,  I  doubt  if  in  the  private  judgment  of  any 
one  they  were  approved  at  that  conference.  They  were  to 
march  the  next  day  to  White  House,  where  Getty  already 
was  with  a  division.  Our  cavalry  had  gone  towards  the 
South  Anna  to  destroy  railway  bridges.  General  Dix  was 
to  go  up  to  White  House  that  night ;  and  from  there,  un 
less  other  counsels  prevailed,  we  were  to  make  what,  with 
my  limited  information,  seemed  to  me  an  impracticable 
effort  to  capture  Eichmond.  This  movement  was  called 
for  by  all  the  newspapers  of  the  North;  it  was  echoed 
in  streets  and  in  houses,  in  private  and  in  public ;  it  was 
accepted  as  a  fact,  and  regarded  as  a  du£y.  Because  it 
would  have  been  a  good  thing  to  do,  it  was  urged  as  a 
wise  thing  to  be  attempted.  By  such  stages  did  public 
opinion  advance,  until  the  Administration  was  affected, 
and  the  failure  to  attempt  became  a  crime. 

White  House,  on  the  Paimmkey,  is  a  place  of  historic 
interest.  In  its  front,  one  year  previous,  were  gathered 
countless  steamers  and  transports  for  the  use  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac.  Around  its  precincts  had  hung  the 
young  hopes  of  our  troubled  nation  in  its  first  efforts  of 
gigantic  warfare.  Here,  too,  was  the  famous  raid,  prelude 
to  the  melancholy  tragedy  which  followed.  We  arrived 
here  at  eleven  A.  M.,  of  the  27th  of  June,  leaving  Cumberland 


APPROACHING  RICHMOND.  123 

at  seven  in  the  morning.  OUT  wagons  delayed  us  ;  they 
floundered  through  the  villanously  niuddy  roads,  of  which 
Northern  people  could  hardly  conceive  one  year  ago.  '  A 
number  of  troops  were  encamped  on  this  wide  plain.  In 
addition  to  those  who  marched  from  Yorktown,  there  were 
perhaps  some  ten  or  twelve  thousand.  Their  shelter-tents 
stretched  far  away  in  the  distance.  Transports  and  gun 
boats,  as  of  old,  wrere  lying  at  anchor.  The  national  flag 
and  national  airs  saluted  sight  and  hearing.  The  railway 
bridge  across  the  Chickahominy  was  saved  by  our  gun 
boats  ;  they  arrived  too  unexpectedly  for  the  sixty  or  seventy 
Eebel  cavalry  on  duty  there  to  destroy  if)  and  now  it  had 
been  planked  over  to  render  it  passable  for  horse  and  foot. 
I  called  upon  General  Dix,  was  cordially  received,  and 
requested,  with  all  the  general  officers  (Keyes,  Terry,  and 
Getty),  to  return  at  three  P.  M.  to  confer  with  him  as  to  the 
best  mode  of  attempting  to  go  to  Richmond,  —  a  march  of 
about  twenty-four  miles  from  White  House.  The  General 
was  a  little  anxious  about  Colonel  Spear,  of  the  cavalry, 
who  had  been  sent  on  a  raid  the  day  before. 

At  three  o'clock  the  conference  began.  The  best  mode 
of  going  to  or  near  Richmond  was  discussed.  Bottom's 
Bridge  or  Mechanics ville  ?  —  one  south,  the  other  north  of 
the  railway  from  this  place.  General  Dix  did  not  favor 
Bottom's  Bridge.  It  was  too  strong  and  too  dangerous  a 
point  to  be  let  alone,  and  it  afforded  too  serious  an  obstacle 
to  enable  us  to  make  a  dash  into  Richmond.  The  Mechan- 
icsville  route,  though  longer,  he  was  inclined  to  consider 
the  better  of  the  two.  Opinions  were  asked.  I  had  trav 
elled  over  neither,  and  therefore  could  give  no  opinion  of 
the  roads  themselves.  I  could  only  consider  them  strategi 
cally.  I  gave  it  as  my  opinion  that  if  we  advanced  on 
Richmond  we  should  cut  loose  from  White  House  as  a 
base,  move  towards  the  railway  communications  north  of 


124  A  WAR  DIARY. 

Richmond,  sever  them,  and  then  make  our  way  towards 
Acquia  Creek,  and  join  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  aid 
in  resisting  Lee's  invasion  of  the  North.  I  argued  that  a 
movement  from  this  point  north  or  south  of  the  railway, 
as  proposed,  was  open  to  serious  objections.  I  believed 
Eichmond  to  be  well  protected  with  fortifications;  that 
our  success  there  was  extremely  doubtful ;  and  that  an  at 
tack  and  repulse  would  invite  the  enemy  to  follow  up  and 
seriously  threaten  our  line  of  communications,  unless  we 
used  a  large  force  to  protect  our  flanks,  in  which  case  the 
assaulting  force  would  be  small.  "  What  do  we  want  of 
Richmond  ?  "  I  said.  "  Is  it  wise  to  dash  our  heads  against 
its  solid  battlements  ;  to  take  the  chances,  even  of  its  cap 
ture,  when  with  this  force  we  could  increase  Hooker's  army 
and  destroy  Lee,  who  is  now  rioting  in  Maryland  ?  When 
we  sever  his  line  of  communications  we  add  greatly  to  the 
chances  of  his  capture  or  entire  destruction  ;  and  then  we 
can  surely  and  easily  walk  into  Richmond.  Is  it  supposed 
Lee  will  be  fool  enough  to  be  diverted  from  his  purpose 
by  any  demonstration  we  can  make  in  Richmond  ?  "  Much 
general  talking  followed.  I  was  sure,  and  General  Dix 
afterward  acknowledged  to  me  that  he  was  also  convinced, 
that  the  plan  to  move  on  Richmond  was  not  favored  by 
one  of  his  general  officers.  The  proposed  movement  was 
due  to  General  Halleck,  who  ordered  General  Dix  to 
menace  Richmond. 

Colonel  Spear  had  not  returned,  and  the  conference 
broke  up  to  await  his  arrival  Later,  the  cavalry  made  its 
appearance  ;  but  I  did  not  learn  that  it  had  been  success 
ful  in  destroying  the  enemy's  communications  with  Lee's 
army.  The  report  was  that  it  had  been  driven  back  by  a 
large  force  stationed  at  an  important  bridge  whose  destruc 
tion  was  attempted.  Spear  captured  about  one  hundred 
prisoners  on  his  raid,  —  among  them  Colonel  Lee,  a  son 


APPROACHING  RICHMOND.  125 

of  the  Rebel  General ;  also  thirty  or  forty  baggage-wagons, 
and  (from  a  paymaster)  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  Eebel 
money.  More  troops  were  coming  up  the  river.  In  all  we 
were  to  have  about  seventeen  or  eighteen  thousand  men. 
The  Rebels  had  made  some  little  preparation  to  defend 
this  place,  by  erecting  within  a  circular  earthwork  at  the 
extremity  of  the  railway  a  battery  on  wheels,  turreted 
like  a  monitor.  We  found  and  destroyed  the  work,  but 
the  battery  had  made  off. 

On  the  28th  of.  June  we  were  still  inactive.  Rain 
threatened ;  more  troops  arrived,  —  some  from  Suffolk ; 
one  regiment  from  North  Carolina  reported,  with  two  days' 
rations,  but  without  shelter-tents  or  cooking  apparatus. 
General  Dix  told  me  that  he  would  have  twenty  thousand 
men  if  all  arrived  that  had  been  promised  him;  but  in 
what  condition  was  another  question. 

"  This  would  not  give  us  men  enough  to  besiege  Rich 
mond,"  I  said. 

"  Oh,  no  ! "  the  General  replied ;  "  I  wrote  Halleck  that  I 
should  never  think  of  sitting  down  before  Richmond.  If 
I  could  accomplish  nothing  with  a  dash,  I  did  not  mean  to 
try  to  do  anything  but  menace  the  capital." 

The  General  thought  well  of  my  proposition  to  move 
towards  the  Virginia  and  Fredericksburg  railway  to  destroy 
bridges.  Our  cavalry  demolished  a  bridge  on  the  Virginia 
Central  by  a  gallant  dash  upon  a  company  of  North  Caro 
lina  infantry  stationed  there.  While  awaiting  further 
movements,  we  learned  that  Lee  was  in  motion  towards 
Washington,  Baltimore,  or  Philadelphia,  as  he  might  choose. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  twenty-ninth 
General  Keyes  rode  into  my  camp  to  say :  "  I  am  going  to 
see  General  Dix  ;  certain  questions  are  to  be  decided.  The 
General  wants  you  to  be  present."  In  the  cabin  of  the 
"Thomas"  I  met  Generals  Dix,  Keyes,  Terry,  Getty, 


126  A  WAR  DIARY. 

Harlan,  and  Foster,  Major  Stewart  of  the  engineers,  Colonel 
Van  Buren,  adjutant-general  to  General  Dix,  and  Colonel 
Thomas,  chief  quartermaster.  General  Dix  opened  the 
discussion  as  follows  :  — 

"At  our  last  conference,  gentlemen,  we  discussed  the 
roads  upon  which  an  advance  to  the  city  of  Richmond 
should  be  made,  in  case  we  advanced ;  now  we  are  met  to 
discuss  the  question  of  an  advance.  Since  our  interview, 
Colonel  Spear  has  returned  from  his  cavalry  raid  and 
reconnoissance.  He  brings  information  of  the  force  of 
the  enemy,  from  which  and  from  telegrams  from  General 
Hooker,  received  through  the  War  Department,  I  am  sat 
isfied  that  the  present  available  force  defending  Richmond 
is  about  twelve  or  fourteen  thousand  men.  I  am  ordered 
by  the  War  Department,  if  possible,  to  menace  Richmond. 
When  all  the  troops  arrive,  I  shall  have  less  than  twenty 
thousand  men ;  probably  all  are  here  now,  or  near  here. 
General  Foster,  what  is  your  opinion  ? " 

"As  I  am  the  youngest  general,  I  should  prefer  the 
opinion  of  an  older  officer,"  was  the  reply. 

"  It  is  customary,"  said  General  Keyes,  "  for  the  young 
est  to  give  an  opinion  first ;  but  as  I  have  made  up  niy 
mind,  I  have  no  objection  to  giving  my  opinion." 

"Well,  your  opinion  then,  General,"  said  General  Dix. 

"  I  think  it  inexpedient  with  this  force  to  attack  Rich 
mond." 

"  Yours,  General  Gordon  ? "  said  General  Dix,  —  I  being 
next  in  rank. 

"  I  concur  with  General  Keyes,"  I  replied. 

"  General  Terry  ? "  said  General  Dix. 

"  I  think  it  inexpedient,"  was  the  answer. 

"  General  Getty  ? " 

"  You  have  not  men  enough  to  keep  open  your  commu 
nications.  I  think  it  inexpedient." 


APPROACHING  KICHMOND.  127 

"  General  Harlan  ? " 

"  I  think  the  same." 

"And  General  Foster  ?" 

"  I  am  of  the  same  opinion  as  all  the  others." 

"  I  entirely  concur  in  your  opinions,"  said  General  Dix. 

So  that  vote  was  unanimous.  It  was  the  opinion  of 
practical  men  on  practical  grounds  against  an  attempt  to 
seize  the  strong  works  around  Eichmond  and  possess  the 
city.  Even  if  it  be  assumed  that  twenty  thousand  good 
men  would  have  accomplished  the  end  in  view,  the  problem 
under  the  conditions  presented  to  General  Dix  would  not 
have  been  of  easy  solution ;'  for  many  of  his  troops  were 
made  up  of  regiments  from  North  Carolina  whose  term  of 
service  had  expired,  and  who,  while  on  their  way  north  to 
be  mustered  out,  were  requested  to  wait  long  enough  to 
lend  a  hand  to  General  Dix. 

After  the  official  conference  a  general  discussion  fol 
lowed,  in  which  I  gave  it  as  my  opinion  that  the  way  to 
take  Richmond  was  to  transfer  our  force  to  Washington, 
and  add  it  to  that  opposing  Lee.  This  was  no  time,  I 
urged,  to  try  experiments.  A  repulse  of  this  column  before 
Eichmond  would  result  in  demoralization  to  the  army 
and  to  the  country;  and  it  would  also  give  renewed 
encouragement  to  the  Eebels.  Accordingly,  at  our  unani 
mous  suggestion,  General  Dix  telegraphed  General  Halleck 
that  it  was  the  wish  of  all  the  general  officers  that  their 
commands  be  transferred  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to 
aid  in  the  repulse  of  Lee. 

From  Fortress  Monroe  we  heard  that  General  Meade 
had  replaced  Hooker  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac;  and  we  were  glad  to  get  the  news.  The  Potomac 
was  at  this  time  again  blockaded  by  Eebels,  and  Lee's 
army  was  within  three  miles  of  Harrisburg.  In  the  mean 
time,  awaiting  orders  from  Washington,  our  feeble  move- 


128  A  WAR  DIARY. 

ment  went  on.  General  Getty,  with  artillery,  infantry, 
and  cavalry,  was  to  leave  the  next  day  to  bum  the  bridges 
over  the  South  Anna ;  General  Keyes  was  to  make  a  diver 
sion  towards  Richmond ;  my  command  was  to  be  held  in 
reserve ;  Colonel  McKibben  was  to  occupy  White  House 
and  neighborhood,  and  care  for  our  flanks,  during  the  six 
teen  days  that  remained  before  his  regiment  was  to  be 
mustered  out  of  service.  And  it  was  to  the  credit  of  these 
men  that  they  applied  to  be  retained,  subject  to  the  single 
condition  of  being  transferred  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
under  Meade,  until  the  Rebel  forces  then  occupying  their 
homes  in  Pennsylvania  should  be  driven  across  the  Poto 
mac,  —  and  this,  with  General  Halleck's  approval,  was 
agreed  to  by  General  Dix. 

At  the  same  post  in  Oregon,  on  the  eve  of  this  great 
rebellion,  under  the  broad  flag  that  had  floated  over  the 
military  Academy  at  West  Point,  Colonel  McKibben  of  the 
Union,  and  General  George  E.  Pickett  of  the  Rebel  army, 
heard  that  the  State  troops  of  South  Carolina  had  fired 
upon  the  "  Star  of  the  West "  in  her  attempt  to  convey 
supplies  to  the  United  States  troops  in  Fort  Sumter.  Ex 
cited  to  anger  by  this  intelligence,  Pickett,  at  that  time  a 
captain  of  infantry,  broke  out  with  pardonable  profanity : 

" South  Carolina,"  he  exclaimed ;  "  she  will  now 

try  to  drag  Virginia  out  of  the  Union."  But  alas  for  na 
tional  patriotism  when  tempted  by  the  infamous  doctrines 
of  Secession !  Pickett  was  a  Virginian.  When  his  State 
rebelled  against  the  Government,  he  plunged  with  her  into 
the  abyss  of  civil  war ;  and  now,  as  one  of  the  most  effi 
cient  officers  of  the  Rebel  army,  he  was  marshalling  his 
men  for  that  magnificent  but  (thank  God !)  futile  charge 
which  shattered  the  army  and  the  Confederacy  at  Gettys 
burg. 

On  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  July  our  movements  were 


APPROACHING   RICHMOND.  129 

progressing.  Keyes,  with  about  six  thousand  men,  was  on 
his  way  to  Bottom's  Bridge ;  Getty,  with  ten  thousand, 
had  crossed  the  Pamunkey  for  the  South  Anna ;  while  my 
command,  increased  by  a  brigade  of  troops  just  from  North 
Carolina  under  General  Spinola,  with  a  battery  and  cavalry, 
was  sent  to  Tunstall's  Station  and  other  approaches.  Ef 
forts  to  destroy  bridges  and  communications  north  of  Eich- 
mond,  and  to  menace  the  capital,  did  not  result  as  General 
Dix  had  anticipated.  Reyes's  movements  were  feeble  and 
indecisive.  At  Baltimore  Cross-roads  he  met  a  regiment  of 
Kebel  infantry,  and  after  skirmishing  with  it  for  an  hour 
captured  one  prisoner,  a  private  of  D.  H.  Hill's  division ; 
whereupon  he  sent  a  despatch  to  Dix  that  he  considered 
this  "a  remarkable  fact,"  asking  if  he  should  "go  on  or 
fall  back,"  -  —  and  then,  without  awaiting  a  reply,  retired  to 
within  four  miles  of  White  House.  Here  he  entertained 
General  Dix  with  a  series  of  despatches.  "  He  had  moved," 
he  wrote,  "  at  such  fearful  pace  that  the  Rebels  had  been 
invited  to  attack  him ; "  and  he  predicted  that  they  would 
do  so.  Later  in  the  evening  this  prediction  seemed  to  be 
verified :  four  discharges  of  artillery  and  rapid  musketry 
firing  were  heard.  This  Keyes  reported  to  General  Dix  as 
an  attack  on  Colonel  West,  and  he  asked  if  he  should  "  make 
the  ground  I  hold  my  battle-ground,"  intimating  that  he 
might  need  reinforcements.  Later  at  night  I  was  summoned 
to  General  Dix's  headquarters,  where  a  new  batch  of  reports 
had  been  received;  and  I  was  told  that  the  enemy  had 
driven  back  General  Keyes's  advance,  and  that  he  was 
in  momentary  expectation  of  a  fire  upon  his  headquarters, 
where  his  second  line  was  placed.  It  appeared  from  the 
replies  of  the  aid  who  brought  the  despatches  that  Keyes 
thought  himself  to  be  in  a  very  serious  position,  anticipat 
ing  being  driven  to  White  House  before  morning  by  a  force 
which  he  estimated  to  be  very  large,  and  that  he  had  sent 

9 


130  A  WAR  DIARY. 

back  unloaded  his  wagons  of  rations  and  forage.  At  such 
probabilities  General  Dix  was  quite  as  much  amused  as 
disturbed,  expressing  his  belief  that  Keyes  "  would  come 
in  here  before  daylight ; "  and  he  directed  me  to  harmonize 
my  dispositions  to  meet  such  an  emergency,  by  strength 
ening  weak  points,  establishing  batteries,  and  warning 
advanced  guards. 

Save  a  few  discharges  of  artillery  and  volleys  of  mus 
ketry,  nothing  happened  to  disturb  the  serenity  with  which 
I  passed  the  night  on  a  camp-stool,  with  the  heavens  for  a 
covering.  The  morning  of  the  30th  of  June  was  quiet  and 
peaceful.  Keyes  was  in  a  confident,  almost  hilarious  mood : 
the  enemy  was  not  in  his  front,  they  had  gone  after  Getty. 
The  morning  of  the  4th  of  July,  1863,  found  us  engaged 
with  duties  which  forbade  other  demonstration  than  a 
national  salute  and  national  airs  at  noon.  While  we  were 
watching  the  enemy  and  threatening  him,  and  compelling 
him  to  withhold  many  troops  from  Lee,  General  Dix  received 
despatches  announcing  that  there  had  been  three  days'  fight 
ing  in  Pennsylvania,  with  every  prospect  of  a  brilliant 
victory  for  us.  He  had  also  received  a  copy  of  a  despatch 
from  Jefferson  Davis  to  Lee  (captured  by  our  forces),  in 
which  Davis  spoke  dolefully  of  affairs  at  the  West ;  feared 
that  Bragg  would  be  attacked  by  Eosecrans  and  have  to 
fall  back  to  Tullahoma  ;  adding  that  General  Joe  Johnson 
was  asking  for  reinforcements,  although  all  the  reinforce 
ments  he  had  asked  for  had  been  sent  him  ;  he  enumerated 
the  forces  in  and  around  Richmond,  declaring  the  intention 
to  be  to  capture  Washington,  and  called  Lee's  attention  to 
the  propitious  time  to  make  this  move,  when  so  many  of 
our  troops  were  going  out  of  service. 

The  importance  of  strengthening  Meade's  army  in  Penn 
sylvania  by  all  available  troops  elsewhere  was  recognized 
by  the  War  Department  and  made  known  to  General  Dix, 


APPROACHING  EICHMOND.  131 

who  was  ordered  to  send  all  the  men  he  could  spare  to 
Washington  as  soon  as  Getty  should  return.  The  troops, 
in  their  excitement  over  the  probabilities  of  victory,  gave 
free  vent  to  their  feelings  by  cheering  until  they  were 
hoarse  ;  speech-making  colonels  were  eloquent.  The  Fourth 
of  July  was  filled  with  high  hopes.  The  hum  of  happy 
voices,  the  loud  tones  of  excited  speakers,  and  the  sullen 
boom  of  distant  guns,  where  Getty  was  attacking  the  Eebel 
bridges  over  the  South  Anna,  united  with  murmurs  from 
river  and  plain  as  we  waited  for  the  opening  of  another 
day. 

Through  the  War  Department  on  Sunday,  the  5th  of  July, 
it  was  communicated  to  General  Dix  that  Meade  had  met 
Lee,  had  successfully  resisted  his  assaults,  captured  many 
of  his  men,  and  turned  him  in  flight  towards  Chambers- 
burg.  On  the  Fourth  the  President  had  informed  the 
nation  of  our  glorious  victory,  and  had  reminded  the  people 
of  their  duty  to  God,  "  from  whom  all  blessings  flow."  So 
much  we  knew,  and  it  became  clear  that  Lee's  power  to 
invade  wTas  gone ;  it  seemed  barely  possible  that  his  shat 
tered  columns  could  reach  the  Potomac,  towards  which  he 
was  flying.  Secretary  Stanton  informed  General  Dix  that 
whether  Lee  succeeded  in  escaping  or  not  depended  much 
on  what  we  could  do  to  cut  the  bridges  connecting  Eichmond 
with  Fredericksburg.  General  Dix  could  congratulate  him 
self  that  the  ten  thousand  men  under  Getty  were  even  then 
carrying  out  the  Secretary's  wishes ;  for  at  that  very  moment 
the  boom  of  distant  guns  came  to  us  from  the  direction  of 
Getty's  column,  rapid  discharges  succeeding  each  other  for 
an  hour,  at  the  end  of  which  time  they  altogether  ceased. 

It  was  strange  that  we,  who  so  idolized  the  memory  of 
the  "  Father  of  his  Country,"  should  meet  in  deadly  strife 
upon  ground  covered  with  mementos  of  his  life  ;  but  it  was 
stranger  still  that  the  descendants  of  that  hero  were  seek- 


132  A   WAR  DIARY. 

ing  to  destroy  what  their  illustrious  ancestor  devoted  his 
life  to  create.  Just  beyond  my  picket  line  there  stood  a 
quaint  old  brick  church,  built  in  1703.  It  is  called 
St.  Peter's  Church,  and  is  memorable  because  within  its 
walls  George  Washington  was  married  to  Martha  Custis. 
The  form  of  the  building  is  quadrangular.  Through  a 
tower  crowned  by  Peter's  keys,  and  rising  but  little  higher 
than  the  roof,  I  made  my  entrance.  Shaded  by  oaks  of 
giant  stature  and  richest  foliage,  this  old  church  of  St. 
Peter's,  escaping  the  desolation  of  war  in  its  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  age,  stands  in  its  sweet 
repose,  a  monument  of  the  past.  Perhaps  the  name  of 
Washington  protected  it ;  for  that  name  preserved  here  in 
Virginia  every  memorial  of  the  Father  of  his  Country.  Not 
so  was  it,  however,  with  his  recreant  descendants  in  their 
fratricidal  warfare ;  they  doomed  themselves  and  their 
works  to  destruction.  White  House,  owned  by  a  son  of 
General  Lee,  was  in  ruins ;  a  pile  of  ragged  bricks  and 
mortar  marked  its  site  on  the  Pamunkey.  The  Rebel 
occupant  of  White  House  was  here  a  prisoner  at  this  very 
moment,  suffering  from  wounds.  He  had  been  brought  in 
on  a  litter,  despite  the  representations  of  his  attendant 
physician,  who  predicted  his  certain  death  if  he  were 
removed. 

The  evening  of  the  5th  of  July  brought  with  it  most 
satisfactory  despatches  from  the  Secretary  of  War.  Our 
army  defeated  three  assaults  made  on  Wednesday,  Thurs 
day,  and  Friday  by  the  enemy,  drove  him  back  to  Gettys 
burg,  whence  on  Saturday  Lee  attempted,  through  a  gap  in 
the  hills,  to  escape  to  Chambersburg ;  but  was  cut  off  by 
Meade,  who  in  an  impregnable  position  was  holding  every 
avenue  of  escape,  save  northerly,  where  he  was  watched  by 
the  force  that  Couch  had  collected  in  Pennsylvania.  "  Why 
should  not  Lee  be  captured  or  destroyed  ? "  we  asked  one 


APPKO ACHING  RICHMOND.  133 

another.  The  despatches  said  that  a  Florida  brigade,  with 
its  general  at  its  head,  colors  and  all,  had  come  in  and  sur 
rendered  to  Meade.  Too  much  confidence  has  ever  destroyed 
every  great  military  leader.  Lee,  in  his  bold  inarch  into 
Pennsylvania,  committed  a  grave  fault :  his  reckonings 
were  false,  his  hopes  fallacious.  Northern  copperheads  had 
unwittingly  done  good.  Lee  had  not  then,  as  at  Antietam, 
one  flank  on  the  river,  but  was  open  to  attacks  in  all 
directions,  —  from  the  victorious  force  that  pressed  his 
rear,  the  militia  that  threatened  his  flanks,  and  the  out 
raged  yeomen  who  swarmed  from  their  plundered  farms 
to  discomfit  his  stealing  crew. 

In  what  remained  to  be  done  near  Gettysburg  we  all 
were  most  anxious  to  aid ;  and  therefore  we  awaited  with 
much  impatience  Getty's  return,  when  we  were  to  march 
towards  Pennsylvania.  Meanwhile  rumors  of  Lee's  escape 
through  the  passes  to  Chambersburg  grew  stronger,  and  we 
had  to  comfort  ourselves  with  the  obstacle  which  General 
French  interposed  to  a  safe  crossing  of  the  Potomac  by  the 
destruction  of  Lee's  pontoon  bridges,  and  on  what  Getty 
might  have  effected  to  impede  his  march  toward  Eichmond 
in  the  demolition  of  bridges  and  railways  to  the  north  of 
that  city.  And  even  here  our  hope  faded  away  from  us ; 
for  on  the  afternoon  of  the  sixth  we  heard  with  regret  that 
General  Getty  found  the  bridges  across  the  South  Anna  too 
strongly  guarded  by  Eebel  infantry  and  artillery  in  earth 
works  to  make  headway  against  them,  although  he  de 
stroyed  the  railways  back  of  the  bridges.  This,  with  other 
demonstrations,  was  of  much  service  to  us,  as  we  learned 
from  one  of  Jefferson  Davis's  despatches,  in  which  he  said 
that  Eichmond  had  been  seriously  threatened,  and  he  could 
not  therefore  send  reinforcements  to  Lee. 

But  our  regrets  were  swallowed  up  in  the  overwhelming 
joy  with  which,  on  the  night  of  the  seventh,  we  learned  of 


134  A   WAR   DIARY. 

the  surrender  of  Vicksburg.  "  Do  not  start  at  daylight," 
wrote  General  Dix  to  me;  "I  have  news  from  the  War 
Department  that  Vicksburg  surrendered  to  the  United 
States  forces  on  the  4th  of  July.  Please  come  to  my  head 
quarters."  At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  conversation 
with  the  General  in  command,  he  said  :  "  I  think  you  had 
better  start  at  daylight.  I  have  sent  a  telegram  to  the  War 
Department,  that,  with  an  additional  force  of  twenty  thou 
sand  meD,  I  can  go  to  Eichmond.  I  am  reluctant  to  leave 
here ;  but  as  I  have  received  no  answer,  I  think  that  on  the 
whole  you  had  better  start."  Before  leaving,  the  General 
gave  me  the  important  information  —  received  through 
Colonel  Ludlow,  our  commissioner  for  exchange  of  pris 
oners —  that,  three  days  before,  Stephens,  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent  of  the  Eebel  Government,  with  a  great  show  of 
baggage,  as  if  to  make  a  long  stay,  came  on  board  the 
truce  boat  to  be  forwarded  to  Washington,  with  despatches 
from  "  Jefferson  Davis,  President  of  the  Confederacy,  to 
A.  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States."  Colonel 
Ludlow  telegraphed  to  Washington  for  instructions,  and 
received  a  reply  that  the  "mission  of  Mr.  Stephens  is 
inadmissible  ;  that  the  ordinary  channels  of  communication 
through  military  officials  are  open  for  all  proper  business 
between  the  insurgents  and  the  United  States."  So  Mr. 
Stephens, "  much  chagrined,"  as  Colonel  Ludlow  said,  turned 
back  and  homeward  hied  to  the  leanness  of  Eebeldom. 
"  The  events  of  the  past  few  days,"  wrote  Colonel  Ludlow 
to  General  Dix,  "  are  disposing  of  the  objects  of  Stephens's 
mission  faster  than  diplomacy  can."  The  Eebel  troops 
were  hardly  fairly  in  our  Northern  land  before  the  Eebel 
President  raised  this  puppet  to  fool  his  own  people,  or  as 
a  scarecrow  for  ours.  Meanwhile  Lee  was  flying  for  his 
burning  pontoons,  and  seeking  the  shelter  of  the  friendly 
Potomac. 


APPROACHING   RICHMOND.  135 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  last  of  our  troops  were 
in  line,  and  the  last  steamer  preparing  to  move  away. 
When  my  own  column  was  ready,  I  gave  the  order  "  For 
ward  !  "  and  took  the  road  through  New  Kent  Court-House 
to  Williamsburg  and  Yorktown.  The  day  was  dreary  and 
drizzly,  the  mud  deep,  the  marching  horrible ;  but  the  men 
buckled  stoutly  to  it,  inspired  to  fresh  effort  by  the  knowl 
edge  that  their  chances  of  being  the  first  to  join  Meade 
depended  upon  the  stoutness  of  their  legs.  Through  the 
woe-begone  old  town  of  New  Kent  Court-House,  by  its 
deserted  houses  and  lifeless  streets,  sloppy  and  slippery, 
the  long  files  of  troops  moved  cheerfully,  chaffing  and 
smoking,  resting  but  a  moment  in  front  of  an  ancient 
hostelry,  from  whose  depths  the  reluctant  visage  of  mine 
host  appeared,  —  old,  shabby,  and  rheumatic,  solemn  in  his 
misery,  and  as  hopeless  in  his  aspect  as  was  the  deep  fog 
and  dripping  rain  overhead,  while  in  his  heart  he  held 
news  from  Gettysburg  and  Yicksburg. 

"  I  have  nothing  to  eat,  sir  ! "  he  said,  with  his  cracked 
voice  ;  "  nothing  to  eat !  "  —  and  to  this  his  withered  frame 
bore  witness,  while  his  tattered  garments  corroborated  his 
tale  of  misery,  —  "  nothing  but  a  little  side-meat  I  bought 
in  Eichmond,  for  which  I  paid  many  dollars  a  pound,  and 
which  I  make  go  as  far  as  I  can  to  save  me  from  star 
vation." 

"  And  how  far  can  you  make  a  little  meat  go  ? "  I 
inauired. 

"Well,  sir,  we  poor  people  resort  to  shifts  and  expe 
dients  which  you  at  the  North  little  dream  of.  You  don't 
know,  sir,  until  you  try  it,  how  small  a  bit  of  meat  will 
flavor  a  large  amount  of  vegetables.  We  are  poor,  sir,  very 
poor  ;  and  when  what  I  have  is  gone,  I  don't  know  where 
I  shall  look  for  more." 

"  Forward  !  "  to  join  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  ;  and  on 


136  A  WAR  DIAKY. 

moves  our  column  to  rest  again  at  Slatersville,  where  the 
ancient  vixen,  Mrs.  Slater,  greets  us  with,  "  Well,  you  hain't 
taken  Kichniond  !  "  I  responded  with  a  copy  of  the  Phila 
delphia  "  Inquirer,"  which  announced  in  prodigious  capi 
tals  "  Lee's  disastrous  defeat  in  Pennsylvania."  "  I  don't 
believe  a  single  word  in  that  paper,"  she  replied ;  "  Gen 
eral  Lee  can't  be  whipped  back ! "  I  told  her  of  Vicks- 
burg ;  and  she  was  still  a  scoffer  at  the  truth,  saying  she 
had  "heard  such'  stories  often  before."  We  had  but  little 
time  to  waste,  hardly  enough  to  admire  the  private  equi 
page  in  which  Mrs.  Slater  was  taking  an  airing,  —  an  ox 
hitched  to  a  cart,  and  driven  by  a  negro,  a  valued  steed 
"  worth  four  hundred  dollars,"  and  just  from  the  plough- 
"  Forward ! "  again,  on  a  stout  march  to  Twelve-Mile  Ordi 
nary,  where  we  arrived  at  about  dusk,  having  accomplished 
twenty-four  miles  over  heavy  and  sticky  roads,  with  no 
other  interruption  than  a  message  through  a  drunken 
cavalry  sergeant,  who  dashed  up  to  me  just  after  leaving 
Slatersville  to  report  that  a  General  somebody  sent  him 
forward  to  say  that  the  enemy  in  strong  force  was  on  my 
flank,  threatening  our  line  of  march.  This  proved,  how 
ever,  to  be  a  false  alarm. 

Footsore  and  weary,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 
the  9th  of  July  we  marched  for  Fort  Magruder,  arriv 
ing  there  at  noon.  We  rested  over  night,  resumed  the 
march  on  the  tenth  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
halted  at  Yorktown  four  hours  later,  when  I  began  the 
embarkation  of  my  division.  Men,  animals,  guns,  and 
rations  were  crowded  into  cramped,  wheezy,  and  degene 
rate  steamers,  to  take  the  field  when  transportation  by  rail 
or  steamer  should  cease.  One  moment's  interview  at  the 
Fortress  with  General  Dix,  in  whose  presence  it  was 
always  sunshine,  and  I  was  again  on  the  mail-boat  for 
Baltimore,  to  have  a  personal  interview  with  General 


APPROACHING  RICHMOND.  137 

Halleck  in  Washington,  —  with  my  part,  in  this  Depart 
ment,  in  the  great  Eebellion,  for  the  time  being  at  an  end. 

Breakfast  at  the  Eutaw  House  on  the  llth  of  July  ;  one 
glance  at  Dr.  Leland,  my  old  surgeon  of  the  Second  Massa 
chusetts  Begiment,  on  his  way  to  Gettysburg;  one  well- 
remembered  laugh,  and  a  few  rapid  inquiries  ;  one  crowded 
moment  of  memories  which  his  presence  recalled,  —  and  I 
entered  the  train  for  Washington. 

General  Halleck  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies 
of  the  United  States.  In  person  he  was  short  and  stout ; 
his  head  was  large,  his  eye  bright,  his  expression  sharp 
and  searching ;  his  manners  gruff  and  harsh.  There  are 
some  things  not  written  about  a  commander-in-chief 
which  men  learn  from  a  glance  at  his  face,  his  residence, 
his  aids,  his  surroundings,  and  his  lackeys.  Nothing  was 
said,  and  yet  the  very  building  which  held  General  Hal 
leck  seemed  constantly  to  vociferate,  "  I  hold  the  com 
mander-in-chief  ! "  The  sentinel  seemed  to  say,  as  he 
walked  to  and  fro,  "  I  guard  the  commander-in-chief ! "  The 
lackey's  look  said,  "  I  open  the  door  to  admit  you  to  the 
commander-in-chief!"  The  aids  in  the  adjoining  rooms 
impressed  one  in  the  same  way ;  their  pens  spoke  aloud 
in  the  solemn  silence,  "  I  write  the  words,  the  very  words, 
of  the  commander-m-chief."  The  appearance  of  the  chief 
of  staff  of  the  commander-in-chief  was  imposing.  "  I  am 
that  great  chief  to  that  great  commander,"  he  seemed  to 
say  to  the  visitor.  "  I  sit  with  him  ;  know  his  plans ;  you 
don't, — they  are  mighty.  I  can  talk  with  him  ;  you  can't. 
Great  is  Halleck  !  great  is  his  chief  of  staff !  great  his  aids, 
his  house,  his  pens,  his  lackeys  !  Hail !  all,  all  hail !  " 

Having  addressed  this  magnate  to  know  his  will  touch 
ing  my  division  of  "  four  thousand  infantry  just  from 
Yorktown,"  I  was  ordered  to  report  at  once  to  General 
Heintzelman,  who  would  send  me  through  Frederick, 
Maryland,  to  General  Meade. 


138  A  WAR  DIAEY. 

The  ease  with  which  the  travelling  world  take  trains 
for  their  destination  is  no  criterion  by  which  to  judge  of 
the  labor  of  transporting  four  thousand  men  and  their 
baggage  from  Washington  to  Frederick  in  time  to  fight 
a  battle.  Had  they  seen  the  confusion  worse  confounded 
which  reigned  at  the  Washington  depot  at  dusk  of  the  day 
of  my  arrival,  they  would  have  been  slow  to  decide  that  we 
should  get  off  anyhow,  at  any  time.  My  division,  how 
ever,  was  at  length  aboard  ;  my  staff  and  I  were  transferred 
to  a  passenger  car,  containing  a  multitude  of  other  officers, 
for  whom  there  was  no  room  elsewhere,  and  we  were  in 
motion  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock  at  night.  All 
things  considered,  we  had  made  fair  progress.  The  troops 
had  marched  from  the  Potomac  Eiver  to  the  railway  at 
Washington  the  moment  they  had  disembarked  ;  and  their 
re-embarkation  began  with  the  aid  of  General  Heintzel- 
man's  staff  and  the  quartermaster's  men,  who  worked  at 
cross-purposes,  and  made  active  demonstrations  of  shout 
ing,  swearing,  and  bellowing  in  inverse  proportion  to  their 
real  efficiency. 

At  daylight  of  the  twelfth  I  was  aroused  from  an  uneasy 
slumber  by  a  sudden  shock.  We  had  run  into  another 
troop-train.  Nobody  was  to  blame  for  those  crushed  bodies 
quivering  under  the  weight  of  a  heavy  platform  car ;  no 
body  to  blame  for  a  delay  of  six  or  seven  hours,  which 
might  have  lost  us  the  fight  we  were  hurrying  to  reach ! 
It  was  twelve  noon  before  we  reached  the  Relay  House, 
twenty-six  miles  from  Washington,  —  twenty-six  miles  in 
twelve  hours !  Where  we  should  have  had  the  wings  of 
the  dove,  we  found  only  the  legs  of  the  turtle. 

Again  in  motion,  our  train  of  twenty-six  or  twenty-seven 
crowded  cars  wound  its  way  in  slow,  snake-like  motion 
around  the  long  curves  that  mark  the  courses  of  the  Balti 
more  and  Ohio  railway.  From  every  log-hut,  hamlet,  and 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        139 

village,  the  people  greeted  us  with  salutations.  The  old 
men  made  speeches,  and  the  old  women  waved  flags.  Our 
progress  through  a  loyal  country  was  marked  by  the  cheer 
ing  voices  and  hearty  God' bless  yous  of  our  friends.  Hill 
sides,  woods,  and  plains  poured  forth  their  people.  No 
wonder  these  men  and  women  swarmed  down  to  meet 
and  to  cheer  us.  They  had  narrowly  escaped  knowing 
all  the  horrors  of  war  and  seeing  their  own  homes  de 
vastated  by  the  enemy.  On  a  single  track,  and  giving 
place  to  regular  passenger  trains  filled  with  Jews,  sutlers, 
and  Gentiles,  we  were  dragged  along  at  a  snail's  pace  until 
daylight  of  the  thirteenth,  when  we  stopped  at  Frederick 
Junction,  with  more  confidence  in  the  ability  of  General 
Heintzelman  to  load  a  train  of  troops,  to  reinforce  an  army 
at  the  front,  than  to  clear  the  road  for  its  rapid  passage  to 
its  destination. 

Frederick,  Maryland  !  I  was  familiar  with  the  place ; 
for  here  it  was  that,  when  in  command  of  the  Second  Mas 
sachusetts  Infantry,  I  had  rested  during  the  first  winter 
of  the  war ;  whence  I  had  gone  out,  in  the  ensuing  March, 
with  the  grand  old  Army  of  the  Potomac,  for  a  share  in  the 
doings  of  1862  ;  through  which  I  had  moved  in  that  same 
year  to  the  music  of  the  musketry  and  cannon  of  South 
Mountain.  I  now  found  myself  in  the  same  place  again  in 
1863,  pressing  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  upon  the 
track  of  flying  Eebels  who  had  again  advanced  within  our 
borders.  How  strangely  did  the  events  of  this  war  stamp 
themselves  upon  this  stanch  old  city  of  Frederick !  Its 
well-remembered  streets ;  its  homes  of  unswerving  loyalty 
and  charming  hospitality ;  the  old  site  of  my  encampment 
in  its  winter  quarters  in  the  neighboring  woods;  the  friendly 
faces  that  bade  me  welcome ;  and,  more  than  these,  the  sad 
news  of  the  death  of  two  more  gallant  officers  and  many 
men  of  my  dear  old  regiment  at  Gettysburg,  —  all  these 


140  A  WAR  DIARY. 

filled  me  with  conflicting  emotions  during  the  moment  of 
time  in  which  I  made  preparation  to  obey  the  telegraphic 
summons  just  received  from  General  Meade,  to  report  to 
him  immediately  in  person. 

A  conflict  seemed  certain  ;  Lee  was  determined  to  fight. 
His  force  was  in  line  of  battle  within  four  miles  of  Wil- 
liamsport,  where  he  had  issued  an  address  to  his  troops, 
calling  upon  them  to  fight,  by  all  the  hopes  and  ends  they 
so  strongly  desired  to  attain ;  he  spoke  of  their  last  battle 
as  not  attended  with  their  usual  success,  and  expressed  his 
hopes  that  they  would  repair  their  losses  and  save  the 
Confederacy.  Meade's  position  was  strong;  and  on  my 
way  to  the  front  to  report  to  him,  I  listened  for  the  roar 
that  should  begin  the  expected  conflict. 

Shall  I  ever  forget  the  hearty  God-speed  which  followed 

me  from  the  noble  Mrs.  D ,  with  whom,  uninvited,  I 

had  breakfasted  ?  Shall  I  ever  forget  her  stanch  loyalty 
amidst  dissenters  and  traitors,  her  attendance  upon  the 
sick,  her  defiance  of  Eebel  troops  during  their  occupation 
of  her  city ;  or  her  frank  declarations  of  loyalty,  although 
her  husband's  parish  dwindled,  and  her  support  was  dimin 
ished  thereby  ?  Hopeful  and  patriotic,  cheering  and  defiant, 
scorning  all  concealment,  her  example  and  precept  strength 
ened  the  weak  and  gave  renewed  confidence  to  the  strong. 
"Come  to  me  here  if  you  are  wounded,"  were  her  last 
words,  as  I  turned  my  horse's  head  in  the  direction. of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac. 

Passing  my  troops,  who  were  pushing  manfully  forward, 
I  stopped  for  the  night  at  the  house  of  a  sullen  Secessionist, 
with  a  spiteful  wife  and  daughter,  and  breakfasted  there  at 
daylight,  although  that  forty-year-old  beldame  assured  me 
that  she  "  hoped  to  see  Lee  drive  you  all  back  again,"  and 
then  rode  rapidly  to  within  four  miles  of  Funkstown, 
where  I  found  General  Meade.  His  headquarters  on  the 


I 

WITH  THE  AEMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.       141 

14th  of  July,  1863,  were  established  on  a  by-road  in  a 
small  piece  of  woods  about  opposite  the  centre  of  his  army. 
A  few  tent-flies  for  his  staff,  a  single  wall-tent  for  himself 
(the  allowance  of  a  regimental  field-officer),  and  a  travelling 
wagon  for  the  adjutant-general's  department,  made  up  the 
substance  of  headquarters,  camp  equipage,  and  baggage. 
General  Williams,  Adjutant-General  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  from  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  General 
Pleasanton,  cavalry  commander  (old  friends),  greeted  me 
cordially.  The  latter  introduced  me  to  a  studious-looking 
old  gentleman,  in  major-general's  uniform,  poring  over  a 
map  with  intense  application,  as  General  Humphreys.  My 
inquiry  for  General  Meade  was  answered  by  pointing  to 
a  wall-tent,  within  which,  on  a  camp-bed,  the  only  article 
of  furniture,  sat  a  major-general,  talking  to  a  youthful-look 
ing  brigadier.  I  was  received  very  politely,  though  with 
something  of  a  precise  abruptness.  General  Meade  was  a 
remarkably  fine-looking  man,  with  a  bright,  intelligent 
countenance,  piercing  eye,  face  indicating  power,  straight  in 
figure,  but  not  stiff.  His  nose  entitled  him  to  a  place  in 
a  gallery  of  military  heroes.  He  was  about  six  feet  high, 
and  far  more  prepossessing  than  most  of  the  representa 
tives  of  factions  who  have  commanded  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac. 

"  Glad  to  see  you,  sir ! "  said  the  General.  "  Take  a  seat 
on  the  camp-bed,  there  is  no  other,"  edging  along  to  give 
me  room. 

"  I  have  brought  you,  General,  from  White  House,  Vir 
ginia,  my  division  of  about  four  thousand  infantry.  I  have 
travelled  with  great  despatch,  having  left  there  on  the 
eighth,  which  makes  but  six  days  in  transferring  this  com 
mand  to  you,  ready  to  take  the  field ;  and  of  those  six,  four 
of  them  were  marching  days." 

"  You  would  have  done  me  more  good  by  remaining  near 


142  A  WAR  DIARY. 

Richmond,"  he  replied;  "the  whole  Rebel  army  crossed  the 
Potomac  this  morning." 

"  Indeed  ! "  I  ejaculated ;  then,  after  a  moment's  pause, 
added :  "  we  did  not  remain  near  Richmond  because  General 
Halleck  ordered  all  those  troops  to  be  sent  to  you ;  and 
mine  have  come  in  hot  haste." 

"We  held  a  council  yesterday,"  continued  the  General, 
"  and  all  my  corps  commanders  were  unanimously  in  favor 
of  not  attacking  the  enemy.  I  was  in  favor  of  so  doing ; 
but  I  did  not  feel  like  moving  against  the  advice  of  my 
corps  commanders,  for  they  do  all  the  work.  But  I  should 
have  moved  this  morning,  at  any  rate." 

After  a  few  more  words,  he  continued :  "I  do  not  pre 
tend  to  any  great  military  knowledge  or  capacity ;  but  if 
anybody  had  said  to  me  while  I  was  lying  upon  this  camp- 
bed,  from  which  I  was  awakened  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  to  be  informed  that  I  was  placed  by  the  President  in 
command  of  this  army,  that  in  the  time  which  has  since 
elapsed  I  should  be  able  to  clear  the  whole  Rebel  army 
out  of  Pennsylvania,  I  should  have  thought  him  insane.  I 
do  not  care  a  straw  what  will  be  said  about  it ;  I  know  it 
to  be  much  better  to  let  the  army  go  in  their  demoralized 
condition  than  to  run  the  risk  of  a  defeat,  though  I  should 
have  attacked  Lee  this  morning,  and  it  was  my  wish  to 
do  so  yesterday." 1 

I  saw,  of  course,  that  General  Meade  was  much  chagrined 
at  the  escape  of  Lee ;  and  I  inferred  that  the  objections 
urged  by  the  corps  commanders  were  not  against  fighting, 
but  to  secure  a  little  rest  and  repair,  in  which  General 
Meade  reluctantly  acquiesced  for  a  day,  —  but  the  delay 
was  fatal.  This  is  the  impression  I  gathered  from  all  that 
was  said,  though  I  am  aware  some  sentences  may  bear  a 
different  interpretation.  These  conclusions,  which  were 

1  Monday,  the  thirteenth. 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        143 

almost  identical  with  those  of  McClellan  at  Antietam,  were 
supported  by  the  same  arguments.  That  a  defeated  army, 
with  a  river  at  its  back,  has  but  one  thing  to  do,  and  that 
is  not  to  give  its  victor  long  to  think  whether  it  will  get  on 
the  other  side  or  not,  flashed  through  my  mind,  —  but  my 
tongue  gave  it  no  utterance. 

"  How  long  do  your  troops  serve  ? "  asked  the  General. 

"  For  the  war,"  I  replied. 

"  I  will  send  you  with  them  temporarily  to  the  Eleventh 
Corps,  to  report  to  Howard,"  said  the  General. 

Our  interview  being  at  an  end,  I  took  the  road  to  Hagers- 
town,  where,  when  I  arrived  late  in  the  afternoon,  I  learned 
that  Howard  with  his  command  had  pushed  on  for  Clear 
Springs.  As  it  was  impossible,  as  well  as  not  desirable,  to 
march  my  tired  troops  further  until  morning,  I  ordered 
tents  to  be  pitched  outside  the  village,  and  used  the  remain 
ing  daylight  in  inspecting  the  long  lines  of  deserted  Eebel 
earthworks  which  showed  themselves  at  short  rifle-range 
from  my  encampment.  I  found  them  to  be  about  six 
miles  in  length,  resting  on  the  Potomac  on  the  right,  and 
following  prominent  ridges  through  corn  and  wheat  fields, 
over  lawns,  through  door-yards,  into  forests  and  thickets, 
wherever  the  situation  invited,  —  until  they  touched  the 
Potomac  on  the  left.  Every  road  from  Hagerstown  to 
Wiliiamsport  was  thus  crossed  by  intrenchments  and 
covered  by  artillery.  Sometimes  the  defences  were,  of 
two  or  three  lines,  as  a  prominent  stone-wall  or  any  invit 
ing  natural  barrier  offered  shelter  to  the  assailed,  or  an 
impediment  to  the  assailant.  Behind  these  works  a  thick 
forest  would  have  enabled  the  occupants  to  continue  the 
fight  if  they  had  been  driven  from  their  works,  while  in 
front  slashed  timber  offered  a  serious  obstacle  to  approach. 
The  works  were  very  strong,  and  the  position  happily 
selected.  Severe  would  have  been  our  loss  in  its  capture. 


144  A  WAR  DIAEY. 

I  estimated  the  force  that  occupied  these  works  at  forty 
thousand  men,  though  Lee  may  have  had  sixty  thousand 
there.  In  wandering  about  I  came  in  contact  with  many 
Marylanders  whose  houses  were  within  the  Kebel  lines, 
and  from  whom  I  learned  that  Lee  began  his  retreat  on 
Sunday  night,  the  twelfth,  that  being  the  first  time  the 
river  was  fordable;  and  that  on  Monday  the  thirteenth, 
the  day  Meade  would  have  attacked  but  for  his  corps 
commanders,  there  was  but  a  thin  line  of  Eebels  in  the 
intrenchments. 

"  I  should  have  come  over  and  told  you  of  this,  sir,"  said 
an  honest  Maryland  farmer  to  me,  "  for  I  knew  all  about 
their  movements  from  some  of  the  Confederate  officers  that 
boarded  at  my  house.  But  my  wife  was  not  at  home,  and 
I  did  not  like  to  leave  the  house  alone." 

"  What,  leave  the  house  alone  !  Why,  the  Government 
would  have  built  you  a  palace  for  such  information  !  One 
hundred  thousand  dollars  would  have  been  cheap  for  it ! " 

"Well,"  he  replied,  "I  could  have  done  it;  but  my 
family  were  all  away,  and  I  did  n't  like  to  leave  the  house 
alone." 

Was  there  ever  such  a  simpleton  ?  A  thoroughly  loyal 
man,  but  so  apprehensive  of  possible  discomforts  as  to  stand 
by  an  old  log-house  that  might  have  cost  ten  dollars,  even 
to  the  sacrifice  of  an  opportunity  to  destroy  General  Lee ! 
A  swollen  river,  barely  fordable ;  and  on  the  heels  of  the 
defeated  army  a  triumphant  host,  held  back  by  only  a  thin 
line  of  skirmishers  I 

"  How  did  the  Eebels  appear  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"  The  officers  were  much  cast  down,"  he  replied.  "  They 
admitted  a  whipping;  said  they  had  lost  Vicksburg,  and 
that  they  would  have,  retreated  immediately  from  Gettys 
burg,  but  the  height  of  water  prevented.  One  of  them  told 
me  he  thought  they  would  all  be  captured." 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        145 

Said  one  old  farmer  to  me  to-day  :  "  I  told  them  [the 
Rebels],  when  they  passed  through  here,  that  they  would 
get  no  further  than  into  a  small  corner  of  Pennsylvania. 
And  I  asked  them  what  they  were  fighting  for,  and  they 
said  their  '  rights  ; '  but  they  could  not  tell  me  of  any  rights 
they  had  lost.  I  told  them  John  Brown  was  hung  for  viola 
tion  of  law ;  and  that  those  who  fired  on  Fort  Sumter  should 
suffer  for  the  same  violation  of  law." 

If  all  that  these  men  said  was  true,  they  were  great 
haters  of  Rebels,  and  very  willing  to  fight  them. 

Our  troops  were  in  Williamsport,  where  they  had  arrived 
in  time  to  know  that  on  the  other  side  of  the  swollen  waters 
of  the  Potomac  were  all  the  Rebels  that  had  not  been 
drowned.  They  had  escaped,  and  nothing  was  left  but  to 
mourn  that  Meade  had  not  attacked  them  the  day  before ; 
and  that  the  scale  of  intelligence  in  the  Maryland  farmer 
was  so  low  that  he  preferred  warding  off  a  possible  clanger 
to  his  log-cabin  to  giving  us  information  that  would  have 
enabled  us  to  crush  the  Rebel  army. 

This  crossing  at  Williamsport  vividly  reminded  me  that 
more  than  one  year  earlier  the  country  waited  in  breathless 
anxiety  for  the  safety  of  a  little  handful  of  men  weighed 
down  with  an  enormous  armful  of  baggage,  who  had  been 
driven  to  the  banks  of  this  then,  as  now,  swollen  river  by 
a  force  ten  times  its  number,  with  whom  it  had  bravely 
contended  for  two  entire  days  in  one  pitched  battle,  and 
a  running  fight  of  more  than  thirty  miles.  I  could  well 
recall  how  this  small  force,  working  during  three  nights 
and  two  days,  placed  by  unceasing  exertion  this  swollen 
stream  between  itself  and  certain  capture  from  the  same 
Rebel  force  which  now  was  doing  its  best  to  save  itself 
from  destruction.  Just  as  we  to-day  by  our  attack  would 
have  annihilated  them,  so  they  by  their  attack  would  then 
have  annihilated  us.  Just  as  they  pleaded  fatigue  and  the 

10 


146  A  WAS,  DIARY. 

impossibility  of  marching  further  as  an  excuse,  so  did  we 
plead  want  of  rest  in  extenuation  of  our  inactivity.  It  is 
said  that  Stonewall  Jackson  gave  as  an  additional  reason 
why  Banks  was  not  destroyed,  that,  having  broken  the  Sab 
bath  by  the  battle  of  Winchester  and  lost  his  opportunity 
to  pray,  he  devoted  Monday  to  religious  exercises.  We 
may  thank  his  devotional  inflexibility,  for  it  saved  us.  Dur 
ing  the  long  night  that  ushered  in  that  Monday  morning 
of  the  26th  of  May,  1862,  we  stood  on  the  Virginia  side  of 
that  swollen  river,  in  sight  of  men  and  baggage,  trains  of 
artillery  and  ordnance,  of  commissary  and  quartermasters' 
stores,  and  the  Shenandoah  Valley  debris  of  the  armies  of 
Siegel,  Shields,  and  Banks,  —  in  sight  of  drowning  mules, 
struggling  drivers,  and  wagons  overturned  in  the  hapless 
attempt  to  ford  its  deep  and  rapid  waters, —  and  yet  effected 
our  passage  without  loss  of  men,  and  with  insignificant 
loss  of  property.  If  the  Eebels  under  Lee  were  as  thank 
ful  to  press  the  Virginia  shore  now,  and  leave  Meade  at 
Williamsport.  as  we  were  to  reach  Williamsport  then  and 
leave  Stonewall  Jackson  on  the  Virginia  shore,  they  must 
have  felt  a  joy  which  is  not  often  tasted. 

So  did  events  repeat  themselves  in  this  war ;  and  so  did 
excuses  and  justifications.  General  Lee,  who  would  have 
claimed  a  victory  over  Meade  as  the  just  termination  of  his 
own  plans  and  judicious  preparations,  now  that  he  had 
been  whipped,  made  excuses  for  his  failure.  He  could  not 
fight  (he  wrote  in  his  official  report)  the  enemy  where  they 
were  with  advantage,  so  he  advanced  towards  the  Potomac. 
He  would  not  have  fought  where  he  did  in  Pennsylvania, 
but  he  came  suddenly  upon  the  whole  of  Meade's  force 
occupying  the  mountain  passes,  and  he  could  not  get  away 
with  his  heavy  wagon- trains.  He  could  not  subsist  his 
men  where  he  was;  Meade  was  too  watchful  for  that. 
Accordingly  he  made  the  attack  with  Longstreet's  com- 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        147 

mand  on  our  left,  and  another  against  our  right  centre  to 
keep  us  from  reinforcing  our  left.  Before  Longstreet  there 
was  an  important  ridge ;  and  Lee  thought,  if  that  were 
gained,  our  left  would  be  crushed.  On  the  first  day  of  the 
battle  he  secured  the  heights  in  front ;  but  on  the  second 
he  failed,  and  was  beaten.  His  artillery  was  useless  then, 
for  his  ammunition  was  almost  exhausted ;  therefore  he 
retreated.  On  the  night  of  the  fourth  he  began  this  move 
ment,  and  his  rear  left  Gettysburg  on  the  morning  of  the 
fifth ;  on  the  thirteenth  he  constructed  a  bridge  at  Falling 
Waters,  and  crossed  it  with  his  army  on  the  fourteenth, 
confessedly  whipped.1 

While  such  momentous  events  were  taking  place  in  the 
field,  a  tumultuous  mob  of  Rebel  sympathizers  in  the  city 
of  New  York  were  obstructing  the  Federal  authorities  in 
their  efforts  to  strengthen  the  Union  army.  An  immense 
body  of  rioters  had  possession  of  the  city ;  drafting  was 
stopped,  the  rolls  destroyed,  hotels  threatened,  houses  in 
flames,  the  "Tribune"  office  attacked.  One  company  of 
invalids  was  called  out ;  they  fired  over  the  heads  of  the 
mob,  were  disarmed,  and  driven  from  the  streets  !  This 
was  the  first  time  that  a  threatened  calamity  to  the  Union 
offered  a  safe  opportunity  for  asserting  that  "the  draft 
cannot  be  enforced ;  that  Lincoln  has  gone  to  the  end  of 
his  tether;  that  peace  cannot  be  made  during  his  ad 
ministration  "  !  This  is  what  the  Governor  of  New  York 
dared  to  proclaim  then. 

Lee  and  Davis  had  organized  this  matter  well.  It  was 
the  commonest,  and  yet  the  most  successful,  strategy  to 
lure  an  enemy  in  one  direction,  while  an  attack  was  made 
in  another  thus  left  undefended.  The  militia  of  New  York 
had  been  called  to  the  front,  and  had  been  sent  away  most 
expeditiously  by  a  Democratic  governor,  while  one  com- 

1  Lee's  official  report. 


148  A  WAR  DIARY. 

pany  of  invalids  was  firing  over  the  heads  of  Eebels  in 
New  York,  and  while  we  were  gathering  up  the  thousands 
of  our  killed  and  wounded  who  fell  on  the  field  of  Gettys 
burg  !  In  that  third  year  of  the  war,  when  half  the  territory 
of  Virginia  groaned  with  its  burden  of  slaughtered  martyrs, 
when  half  the  homes  of  loyal  States  were  in  mourning,  to 
treat  Eebels  in  New  York  with  such  tenderness,  and  at 
the  same  time  slaughter  Eebels  in  Pennsylvania,  —  oh, 
consistency ! 

On  the  fifteenth,  preparing  to  go  to  Clear  Springs,  Gen 
eral  Howard  greeted  me  with  the  information  that  the 
whole  army  were  to  move  towards  Berlin ;  which  meant, 
of  course,  another  march  into  Virginia.  I  had  never  met 
Howard,  though  I  think  I  could  have  called  him  by  name 
had  I  not  seen  his  sleeveless  arm,  —  a  memento  of  the  first 
Bull  Eun.  He  is  a  brave  man,  who  trusts  in  God  and 
strong  battalions ;  is  judicious  withal,  and  not  wanting  in 
tact.  He  is  of  medium  size,  has  a  frank  and  open  counte 
nance,  a  cheerful  smile,  smooth,  quiet  voice,  and  impresses 
one  as  an  honest  man.  His  clerical  training  (he  was  a 
clergyman  before  the  war)  is  somewhat  perceptible,  though 
he  seemed  without  cant  or  manifestation  of  sanctity.  He 
was  very  courteous  and  affable ;  was  in  some  doubt  as  to 
the  command  I  should  have  in  his  corps,  but  finally  left  it 
to  be  arranged  to  suit  me  when  we  arrived  at  Berlin.  To 
my  expression  of  regret  that  Lee  had  not  been  attacked,  he 
replied  that  Sedgwick,  Slocum,  and  Sykes  were  decidedly 
opposed  to  it  in  council;  that  he  asked  permission  of 
Meade  to  move  forward  on  Sunday  night,  the  twelfth,  and 
turn  Lee's  left  on  Monday  morning,  which  he  thinks  he 
could  have  done,  but  that  Meade  replied  that  the  move 
ments  already  contemplated  would  have  the  same  effect. 
From  this  I  of  course  received  the  impression  that  Howard 
did  not  in  council  advise  against  the  attack,  though  Meade 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        149 

had  told  me  that  all  his  corps  commanders  were  unani 
mously  against  it.  I  was  further  impressed  with  the  belief 
that  if  a  corps  had  been  precipitated  upon  Lee  on  Monday 
morning,  Meade  would  have  verified  the  information  of  the 
man  with  a  log-house,  and  would  have  caught  the  enemy 
in  a  most  deplorable  condition. 

Carl  Schurz,  who  commanded  a  division  in  the  Eleventh 
Corps,  called  on  me  while  Howard  was  present,  and  char 
acterized  the  failure  to  attack  as  the  mistake  of  the  war. 
As  I  was  to  enter  upon  the  coming  campaign  with  Carl 
Schurz,  and  as  I  was  attracted  by  his  well-known  reputa 
tion  as  an  orator  at  the  West,  I  closely  scrutinized  his 
person  for  an  impression.  He  is  tall,  over  six  feet  high, 
stoops  a  little,  has  sandy  hair,  an  inquiring  look,  and  a 
restless  and  nervous  manner.  He  is  reticent  in  speech, 
and  always  on  the  watch  for  an  advantage ;  has  his  own 
plans,  and  will  defeat  yours  if  they  interfere  with  his.  He 
is,  too,  a  politician  ;  ever  ready  and  willing  to  increase  the 
influences  through  which  he  moves  and  has  his  being.  As 
a  clear  and  terse  writer  he  has  few  superiors.  He  has  the 
art  of  putting  things  strongly,  as  Howard  found  out  after 
Chancellorsville,  when  Schurz  wrote  him  a  letter  of  such 
singular  bitterness  that,  said  Howard,  "  I  thought  I  should 
never  survive  it ;  but  I  have."  It  was  to  make  Howard 
the  scapegoat  of  the  Eleventh  Corps  that  Schurz  wrote 
that  letter ;  and  it  had  an  effect  in  producing  trouble  with 
the  German  element,  which  only  Howard's  later  successes 
in  the  field  allayed. 

A  quiet  drive  through  an  open  country,  with  unob 
structed  ways  and  good  bridges,  was  more  delightful  and 
less  exasperating  than  were  my  attempts  to  push  my  way 
to  Berlin  through  the  crowded  baggage-trains,  columns  of 
infantry,  miles  of  cavalry  and  artillery,  acres  of  quarter 
masters'  and  ordnance  wagons,  and  all  the  indescribable 


150  A  WAR  DIARY. 

appurtenances  of  material  form  and  palpable  substance 
that  impede  an  army.  After  being  hopelessly  mixed  up 
in  Sedgwick's  corps,  in  which  were  sandwiched  the  four- 
wheeled  nondescripts  of  the  Sanitary  and  Christian  com 
missions,  I  extricated  myself  but  to  find  every  road  for 
twenty  miles  a  confused  mass  of  human  and  animal  life, 
from  which,  by  sheering  and  pushing  and  using  strong 
exhortations,  I  got  clear,  and  encamped  for  the  night  on 
the  identical  spot  whence,  in  the  previous  autumn,  I 
marched  with  my  brigade  to  fight  the  battle  of  Antietam. 
Who  could  have  predicted  then  that  in  less  than  one  year 
I  should  return  by  the  same  route  to  aid  in  another  inva 
sion  of  Virginia  ?  We  received  news  that  evening  of  our 
military  successes  among  Southern  traitors,  and  fearful 
reports  of  the  deeds  of  Northern  traitors  in  New  York. 
The  whole  line  of  the  Mississippi  was  ours ;  Vicksburg  and 
Port  Hudson  captured ;  Bragg  flying  before  Kosecrans  to 
Atlanta ;  Joe  Johnson  whipped  by  Sherman ;  Fort  Powha- 
tan,  on  the  James,  taken;  and  New  York  under  martial 
law.  These  successes  we  could  set  off  against  desponding 
rumors  that  our  efficiency  in  the  field  had  been  impaired 
by  a  recall  of  the  New  York  militia,  that  the  President  had 
stopped  the  enforcement  of  the  Conscription  Act  at  the  will 
of  the  mob,  and  that  General  Meade  had  received  a  curt 
reproof  from  Halleck  touching  Lee's  escape.  "  Councils  of 
war  never  fight,"  said  that  carpet  chief;  "you  [Meade] 
should  have  acted  upon  your  own  responsibility."  That 
what  he  had  accomplished  should  be  overlooked ;  that  he 
should  be  censured  for  neglect  and  suspected  of  infirmity 
of  purpose ;  and  that  Halleck  should  play  the  r61e  of  cen 
sor,  —  this  was  too  much  for  Meade ;  and  he  replied  that 
he  relied  only  on  himself,  and  asked  to  be  relieved  from 
command.  But  to  this  end  matters  were  not  to  be  pushed. 
Again  had  scolding  messages  and  "  Bunsby  despatches " 


WITH  THE  AKMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        151 

aroused  an  unforeseen  indignation.  General  Meade  was 
informed  that  the  President  did  not  wish  to  relieve  him  ; 
that  he  only  desired  to  spur  him  onward  in  his  pursuit  of 
Lee.  Meade  accepted  this  Pickwickian  construction,  and 
on  the  16th  of  July  threw  his  pontoons  into  the  Potomac 
at  Berlin,  to  cross  once  more  into  Virginia. 

The  division  assigned  to  me  was  commanded  by  General 
Barlow  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  was  composed  of 
two  brigades  of  six  regiments  in  each.  Generals  Adelbert 
Ames  and  Schimmelfening  commanded  the  brigades.  The 
division  I  brought  here  was  incorporated  with  this  com 
mand.  The  entire  division  as  then  made  up  consisted  of 
the  75th,  25th,  and  107th  Ohio,  17th  Connecticut,  40th 
Massachusetts,  and  157th  New  York  regiments,  commanded 
by  Ames ;  and  the  41st,  54th;  127th,  142nd,  144th  New 
York  and  the  74th  Pennsylvania  regiments  under  Schim 
melfening.  Howard's  corps  was  Siegel's,  and  Siegel's  was 
Fremont's,  in  which  there  were  many  Germans,  as  the 
names  indicate.  Both  Ames  and  Schimmelfening  were 
highly  praised  by  Howard.  The  material  and  staff  of  the 
division  had  been  transferred  to  my  headquarters.  The 
color  was  a  crescent  on  a  white  field ;  the  transportation, 
one  ambulance  and  two  or  three  common  wagons.  Then 
there  were  a  division  surgeon,  a  commissary  of  musters, 
and  all  the  necessary  men  and  measures  for  a  requisite  mili 
tary  and  sanitary  status.  There  were  also  a  commissary 
to  provide  food ;  a  quartermaster  to  supply  wagons,  forage, 
horseshoes,  and  camp  equipage ;  a  surgeon  to  see  that  regi 
mental  surgeons  did  their  duty,  and  an  inspector  to  see 
that  everybody  did  his  duty ;  a  bugler  to  blow  troops  up 
and  down,  here  and  there,  to  march  and  halt,  to  fight  and 
cease  fighting ;  orderlies  for  messages  and  despatches ;  aids 
to  execute ;  signal  officers,  with  flags  by  day  and  torches 
by  night.  These,  with  an  officer  of  ordnance  and  a  chief 


152  A  WAR  DIARY. 

of  artillery,  made  up  the  military  family  of  a  general  of 
division,  and  aided  him  in  the  keeping,  marching,  manoeu 
vring,  fighting,  and  preservation  of  his  men.  This  division 
formed  part  of  the  Eleventh  Corps  at  Chancellors ville, 
where  it  was  rolled  into  a  shred  by  Stonewall  Jackson's 
attack  upon  its  right  and  rear ;  it  formed  one  third  of  the 
same  corps  at  Gettysburg,  where  it  had  just  washed  out 
the  stain  of  Chancellorsville ;  and  it  was  prepared,  as  one 
of  the  eighteen  or  twenty  units  of  motion  which  made  up 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  to  enforce  its  behests  with  a 
determined  will,  and  add  another  page,  "  over  the  Poto 
mac,"  to  the  history  of  the  Great  Eebellion. 

A  fussy  Dutchman,  the  owner  of  my  not  regal  mansion, 
came  that  evening  to  tell  me  of  his  woes.  I  heard,  through 
the  din  of  orders,  circulars,  and  bugle-calls,  how  this  Dutch 
man  had  farms,  paid  taxes,  had  fits,  and  knew  a  blooming 
widow  with  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  whom  I,  or  he  (I 
have  forgotten  which),  might  marry  for  the  asking. 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        153 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

WITH  THE  AEMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.  —  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

A  T  half-past  two  in  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  July, 
'*•*•  1863,  we  breakfasted ;  and  at  four  A.  M.,  "  Crossing 
the  Potomac  !  "  rang  once  more  through  the  nation. 

The  cavalry  sent  up  great  columns  of  dust  as  they  cov 
ered  our  flanks,  while  the  infantry,  battling  stoutly  with 
fatigue,  tramped  along  to  halt  at  night,  tear  down  fences, 
and  build  huge  fires,  grow  jolly  and  refreshed  over  hot 
coffee  and  pipes,  laughter  and  song.  Then  came  slumber, 
before  another  day. 

We  passed  Lovettsville  in  Virginia,  on  the  twentieth. 
The  presence  of  one  hundred  thousand  men  inspired 
the  many  young  men  and  women  there  with  so  much 
respect  for  the  Northern  army  that  they  flung  our  flag  from 
their  house-tops,  or  waved  it  vigorously  in  the  streets.  And 
this  was  no  pretence  of  patriotism,  for  they  had  raised,  so 
we  were  told,  a  loyal  troop  of  horse,  which  were  paid  and 
fed  as  our  own ;  Quakers,  they  told  us  they  were,  and 
proud  of  their  warlike 'display.  "The  war  is  going  on  as 
I  want  it  to  go,"  said  to  me  a  loyal  citizen  of  the  town. 
"  I  tell  ye,  I  seen  some  long  faces  sence  Vicksburg,  Port 
Hudson,  and  Lee's  repulse  at  Gettysburg ;  but  the  Eebels 
don't  admit  disasters." 

We  pressed  on  after  the  pioneers,  who  with  axes  and 
shovels  levelled  fences,  bridged  streams,  made  practicable 
roads  through  fields  for  the  infantry,  who  abandoned  the 
highways  to  our  trains.  We  halted  at  Waterford  for  the 


154  A  WAR  DIARY. 

night.  Near  this  town,  and  about  three  miles  from  Hamil 
ton,  on  the  Leesburg  and  Snickersville  pike,  there  dwelt  a 
Quaker,  —  a  harmless  man,  with  Union  proclivities,  and  a 
wife  who  was  a  full-blooded  Virginian,  but  loyal  for  all 
that.  I  halted  there,  and  encamped  the  division  in  the 
garden  and  fields.  The  wife  waited  on  us  at  supper,  talk 
ing  the  while  with  great  volubility,  —  "I  tell  ye,"  clinching 
her  assertions ;  and  "  Do  tell ! "  popping  at  mine. 

"  I  'm  forty-three  year  old,  and  the  mother  of  twelve  chil 
dren,  —  eleven  living,  and  all  but  one  to  home.  Have  some 
more  coffee  ?  Did  ye  ever  drink  Jeff-Davis  coffee  ? " 

"Never,"  I  replied. 

"  Do  tell !  Well,  you  shall  drink  some  Jeff-Davis  coffee : 
there  now,  did  n't  I  tell  ye  you  'd  like  it  ? " 

"  Confound  the  flies  !  "  I  answered. 

"  Here,  Amanda  Susanna ;  you  take  the  brush,  quick 
now.  Don't  I  expect  to  catch  it  with  a  fit  of  sickness,  after 
you  're  gone  ! " 

"  Are  you  not  strong  ?  "  I  asked. 

"I?     I  'm  mighty  slim,  I  tell  ye." 

Heavenly  powers  !  I  thought ;  is  it  possible  so  strong  a 
tongue  can  be  set  in  an  enfeebled  body ;  or  that  that  active 
frame  can  ever  be  brought  to  rest  ? 

Kelays  of  hungry  officers  besieged  the  house  for  food ; 
countless  soldiers  surrounded  the  dwelling,  burned  the 
fences,  milked  the  cows,  slaughtered  the  pigs,  stole  the  bee 
hives,  and  slept  in  the  fields.  But  untiring  and  irrepres 
sible,  just  what  she  was  the  night  before  and  had  been  the 
whole  night  through,  —  scolding  and  laughing,  baking  and 
frying,  —  I  found  my  hostess  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing,  when  she  gave  me  my  breakfast,  and  claimed  to  have 
won  her  bet,  "  that  the  soldiers  would  suck  all  the  cows  dry 
before  breakfast." 

"  As  goes  Virginia,  so  go  I,"  is  the  specious  reasoning 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        155 

of  many  of  the  faint-hearted  hereabout,  who,  warned  by 
past  disasters,  were  making  up  their  mouths  to  swallow  a 
yet  more  bitter  pill.  I  encountered  a  fat  citizen  when  I 
halted  for  a  rest,  who,  admitting  that  he  was  tired  of  the 
war,  and  thought  from  our  recent  victories  we  were  "  fast 
doing  it  up,"  found  comfort  in  the  fact  that  Seward  was  in 
favor  of  an  amnesty  to  all  Southerners  in  arms,  save  the 
leaders.  This  he  thought  statesmanlike ;  he  believed  in 
Seward's  statesmanship.  I  replied  that  I  was  in  favor  of 
such  a  settlement,  and  had  no  doubt  the  Northern  people 
were ;  and  an  order  which  I  had  received  before  coming 
into  Virginia,  that  in  taking  forage  from  people  south  of 
the  Potomac  we  were  to  pay  for  it  if  the  owner  would  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance,  pointed  to  such  a  policy  by  our 
Government.  I  did  not  believe,  I  urged,  that  we  should 
hold  responsible  or  punish  those  who  had  thoughtlessly  em 
braced  the  fallacy  that  the  edict  of  a  State  could  absolve  its 
citizens  from  their  allegiance  to  the  General  Government. 
And  I  pointed  out  to  this  respectable  citizen  that  popular 
opinion  was  always  manufactured  by  a  few  self-seeking 
politicians ;  that  the  common  mind  was  not  logical,  but 
impulsive  ;  that  what  he  called  the  will  of  Virginia  was  the 
dictation  of  unprincipled  politicians.  "  Why,  sir,"  said  I, 
"  in  a  week's  time  in  your  State  I  could  get  a  popular  vote 
that  the  ourang-outang  is  morally  and  mentally  superior 
to  the  human  race." 

"  You  think  mighty  well  of  Virginia  intelligence,"  said  he. 

"I  think  as  well  of  it  as  of  that  of  any  other  State,"  I 
replied.  "  Not  two  days  since  an  honest  old  Dutchman  in 
Maryland  asked  me  if  it  were  true  that  in  Massachusetts 
whites  and  negroes  intermarried  and  lived  on  terms  of  per 
fect  equality.  Had  the  old  Dutchman  travelled  much  in 
Virginia,  he  would  have  seen  among  you  much  to  confirm 
the  opinion  he  evidently  entertained  about  Massachusetts. 


156  A  WAR  DIARY. 

We  do  not  love  the 'negro  in  Massachusetts  as  you  do 
in  Virginia." 

"  What  State  are  you  from  ? "  he  asked. 

"  From  a  State  that  is  accused  of  loving  negroes  little,  but 
of  hating  slavery  much.  I  am  from  Massachusetts,  thank 
God!" 

"  Well,  sir,"  he  remarked,  "  we  think  Virginia  did  not 
want  war,  and  meant  to  settle  up  this  difficulty  without  it. 
She  would  have  acted  the  part  of  the  peacemaker ,  but  you 
would  not  give  up  Fort  Sumter,  and  your  President  called 
out  an  army  to  oppose  us." 

Will  it  be  believed,  when  passion  shall  have  subsided, 
that  six  millions  of  people  could  have  been  plunged  into 
war  by  such  false  logic  ? 

At  four  P.M.  we  encamped  at  Goose  Creek,  where  I  lis 
tened  unmoved  to  the  pitiful  wails  of  a  fellow  who  would 
not  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  but  had  lost  four  of  the 
horses  he  had  hidden  in  the  woods,  and  sixty  of  the  sheep 
he  had  left  in  his  pasture.  He  had  to  go  with  his  State ; 
so  must  his  horses  and  sheep,  —  and  that  is  into  Union 
hands,  as  he  was  soon  to  find. 

But  where  is  the  object  of  our  pursuit  ?  —  where  is  the 
great  peacemaker,  Lee  ?  Is  he  at  Winchester ;  and  have 
we  outstripped  him  ?  Are  we  indeed  a  "  leetle  ahead,"  as 
the  honest  farmer  said  of  the  huntsman's  dog  in  the  wolf 
chase  ?  General  Meade  has  ordered  us  to  remain  here  over 
the  morrow ;  or,  if  we  move,  to  change  our  position  only. 
Gordons ville  was  supposed  to  be  the  objective  point  for 
Lee,  the  Blue  Eidge  again  his  barrier,  its  passes  his  gates, 
which  he  should  defend  and  we  should  batter  down.  With 
the  exception  of  some  bushwhacking  Virginians  who  had 
"  gobbled  up  "  two  or  three  staff-officers  at  Midclleburg,  we 
heard  nothing  of  an  enemy  on  our  wing.  But  that  famous 
peacemaker  Mosby  was  ridding  us  of  some  useless  baggage 


WITH  THE  AKMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        157 

in  picking  up  men  who  fell  to  the  rear  of  a  marching  col 
umn,  pleading  sickness,  fatigue,  anything,  to  fall  out  and 
steal.  The  men  he  was  welcome  to  ;  but  sutlers'  wagons,  — 
that  was  another  question.  Therefore  we  gave  chase,  and 
were  gratified  both  at  the  rapidity  with  which  the  rob 
bers  galloped  some  of  our  lazy,  straggling  infantry  across 
the  fields,  holding  them  by  the  collar  and  spurring  their 
own  horses  the  while,  and  that  we  had  secured  the  sut 
lers'  wagons,  minus  the  horses,  plus  the  champagne. 

"Such  a  run  as  that  fellow  Mosby  gave  them,"  said 
General  Schurz  to  rne,  "  and  such  a  fright !  they  did  not 
know  friend  from  foe.  As  I  pursued  Mosby,"  continued 
the  General,  "  I  came  on  one  of  our  worthless  stragglers 
standing  in  the  middle  of  a  stream. 

" '  Don't  shoot,'  said  he,  '  I  'm  your  prisoner  of  war.' 

"  '  Well,  then,  come  out ! ' 

" '  Don't  shoot,'  he  cried  again,  '  I  'm  your  prisoner  of 
war.' 

"  '  Well,  I  tell  you,  come  out ! ' 

" '  Don  t  shoot,'  he  again  vociferated. 

" '  What  do  you  belong  to  ? ' 

" '  The  Eleventh  Corps.' 

"'Why!  that 's  my  corps.' 
'  Well,  don't  shoot,  I  'm  your  prisoner.' 

"Why,  you  are  one  of  our  men,"  said  the  General;  but 
without  appeasing  the  terrified  fool,  who  continued  to 
insist  that  he  was  a  "  prisoner  of  war." 

Meanwhile  it  was  rumored  that  Lee  was  at  Winchester ; 
that  we  were  out-marching  our  enemy,  and  might  out 
strip  him  to  Eichmond.  But  this  would  not  do,  for  we 
should  thus  uncover  Washington.  Uncover  Washington  ! 
How  suggestive  these  words !  —  suggestive  of  Fredericks- 
burg  and  McDowell,  of  Shields  and  Harrisburg,  of  Jack 
son's  foot-race  and  McDowell's  fool's  errand,  of  Pope's 


158  A  WAR  DIARY. 

tramp,  of  the  disasters  of  Hooker  and  Burnside,  and  of 
Meade's  expectancy.  My  pickets  connected  with  those  of 
the  First  Corps  on  the  road  to  Middleburg,  my  head 
quarters  being  on  the  road  to  Aldie,  at  the  little  tumble 
down  town  of  Mounts  ville,  where  the  forced  hospitality 
which  a  rabid  Virginia  Secessionist  gave  to  the  Generals 
of  a  Yankee  army  quartered  within  his  house,  on  his  fields, 
in  his  orchards,  or  wherever  they  please,  partook  of  the 
ludicrous.  The  florid  Spanish  welcome,  "  Take  all  I  have, 
it  is  yours !"  if  signifying  all  it  purports  and  applied  ac 
cordingly,  would  hardly  leave  the  hapless  Don  in  a  worse 
plight  than  did  the  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  hearty 
men  and  thousands  of  hungry  animals  who  passed  from 
twenty-four  to  forty-eight  hours  with  that  host,  who  dis 
torted  his  face  into  a  painful  welcome.  In  the  dreary 
halls  and  dark,  low-walled  rooms  of  my  headquarters  my 
scowling  host  eyed  me  furtively,  peered  over  my  shoulder 
as  I  wrote,  followed  me  with  glances  of  hatred  as  I  walked, 
scanned  me  as  I  rode,  or  answered  me  with  forced  civility 
as  I  spoke.  This  was  one  of  the  followers  of  Virginia's  for 
tunes,  who  would  not  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  was 
therefore  a  prisoner  in  his  own  dwelling.  Over  his  fields 
the  soldiers  in  blue  were  swarming,  and  above  his  tree- 
tops  curled  the  smoke  of  many  camp-fires. 

Lee  was  not  watching  us  at  Winchester,  but  was  rushing 
on  madly  for  Richmond ;  in  the  mean  time  diverting  us 
with  a  pretence  of  coming  through  at  Chester  Gap,  where 
we  attacked  and  easily  drove  him  back  (taking  some 
prisoners,  and,  as  reported,  a  thousand  head  of  cattle  and 
sheep),  while  with  his  main  body  he  travelled  through  the 
unthreatened  gate  at  Thornton's  Gap,  whence,  with  his  line 
for  men  and  supplies  unobstructed,  he  was  in  a  position  to 
open  a  new  account  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  To  do 
what  Lee  was  doing  was  7iis  wish ;  to  defeat  it  was  ours. 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        159 

From  Mountsville  on  the  road  till  twelve  at  midnight, 
as  rear-guard  watching  trains  and  defeating  Mosby's  at 
tempts  to  burn  and  capture  baggage,  —  sixteen  continuous 
hours  in  the  saddle  and  on  foot,  —  my  weary  division 
marched;  then  halted  for  the  night,  with  no  hope  of 
coming  hospitality,  to  hear  no 

"  Watch-dog's  honest  bark 
Bay  deep-mouthed  welcome  as  we  draw  near  home," 

but,  tired  out  and  hungry,  with  uncertain  prospect  of  sleep 
or  food :  such  the  dark  present  of  the  soldier,  lightened 
only  by  the  consciousness  of  duty  clone.  Our  march  ended, 
we- struggled  through  swamp  and  thick  woqds  and  fell  into 
slumber,  too  tired  to  be  hungry,  too  exhaustecl  to  rest.  We 
had  heard  during  the  day  sounds  of  distant  cannonading 
on  our  right  wing,  and  had  lost  a  man  or  two  while  at 
Mountsville  from  bushwhackers,  —  one  of  them  being 
killed  not  a  mile  from  my  own  headquarters,  while  guard 
ing  Virginia  property  at  the  request  of  the  owner ;  and  we 
had  now  arrived  here  but  to  awake  at  half-past  three  in 
the  morning,  breakfast  on  a  cup  of  black  coffee  and  fried 
fresh  meat,  to  press  on  for  another  weary  day,  and  another 
breakfast  hour  at  half-past  two  in  the  morning,  until,  on 
the  25th  of  July,  we  arrived  at  Warrenton  Junction.  Not 
yet  one  year  since  I  came  and  went  with  Pope  through  this 
detestable  hole,  and  came  and  went  again ;  the  same  unre 
lenting  plain,  the  same  mud-holes  for  wells,  remains  of  old 
camps,  decayed  animals,  and  debris  of  war  still  the  same  ! 
Here  were  the  remains  of  animals  which  were  to  live  on 
the  country,  but  which,  disobeying  Pope's  magnificent 
order,  died  on  it  because  it  was  the  only  thing  they  found 
it  practicable  to  do.  Feebler  and  feebler  these  faithful 
animals  grew  on  Pope's  forage,  until  at  last,  with  not  even 
a  saddle's  weight,  their  muscles  relaxed,  and  they  took 


160  A  WAR  DIARY. 

their  last  step,  —  a  final  expiring  effort,  —  and  fell  to  rise 
no  more.  Here,  near  a  tree,  to  which  he  was  so  securely 
fastened  that  not  a  mouthful  of  food  or  water  could  he  get, 
we  came  upon  the  skeleton  of  a  poor  horse,  unbridled, 
unsaddled,  deserted  by  the  inhuman  animal  that  rode  him, 
perishing  most  miserably  of  hunger  and  thirst. 

At  Warrenton,  with  one  corps  in  advance  at  Bealton,  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  had  concentrated  for  action.  On  the 
twenty-fourth,  Longstreet  entered  Culpeper,  en  route  for 
Gordonsville.  He  was  received  as  a  conqueror  ;  the  build 
ings  decked  with  Eebel  flags,  the  streets  crowded  with 
Eebel  sympathizers,  the  air  filled  with  Eebel  cheers, — 
these  greeted  the  ragged  and  barefooted  crowd  tramping 
southward  from  their  defeat  at  Gettysburg.  Prices  for 
food  were  high.  Flour  was  twenty  dollars  a  barrel  in 
notes  of  the  Confederate  Government,  and  fifteen  dollars 
in  notes  of  a  Eebel  State ;  in  United  States  notes  the 
price  was  twelve  dollars.  For  one  bowl  of  bread  and 
milk  one  dollar  was  asked.  In  Pope's  campaign  we  left 
much  paper  money  in  Culpeper ;  and  now  from  prisoners, 
from  the  dead,  and  from  exchanges  the  amount  had 
increased.  Two  for  one  of  ours  was  freely  offered  in 
Confederate  money ;  while  for  gold  there  was  no  price  in 
Confederate  paper.  The  absolute  strength  of  one's  convic 
tion  is  shown,  it  is  said,  in  the  money  he  is  willing  to 
stake  in  its  support ;  the  market  is  infallible.  These,  then, 
were  the  fruits  of  Gettysburg,  of  Vicksburg  and  the  Miss 
issippi,  —  two  to  one  by  Eebels  on  our  success. 

While  he  was  at  Warrenton,  the  public  was  busy  with 
General  Meade.  Letters,  anonymous  and  acknowledged, 
all  censuring  his  failure  to  capture  Lee  after  Gettysburg, 
poured  in  upon  him.  "The  question,"  said  the  General 
to-day  in  the  presence  of  General  Slocum  and  myself,  "  was 
not  whether  we  should  attack  at  all  at  Hagerstown,  but 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        161 

whether  an  attack  in  force  should  be  made  without  a  recon- 
noissance."  Unfortunately,  during  the  discussion  the  ene 
my  fled ;  and  thus  vials  of  wrath  were  opened  upon  the 
General  who  turned  back  the  Eebel  horde  at  Gettysburg. 
"  Your  course,"  said  one,  "  will  prove  that  engineer  officers 
in  conducting  campaigns  are  failures."  Said  another,  "  You 
will  fail  as  McClellan  has  failed."  Even  Halleck's  private 
despatches  to  Meade,  served  up  through  the  agency  of  a 
telegraphic  reporter,  tickled  the  public  ear  with  the  bom 
bastic  sententiousness  "  that  councils  of  war  never  fight," 
or  were  rolled  with  pretentious  gravity  over  the  public 
tongue  in  affected  alleviation  of  disappointment;  and 
although  the  real  despatch  bore  but  small  resemblance 
to  the  telegraphic  foundling,  it  was  insolent  enough,  as 
we  have  seen,  to  impel  Meade  to  offer  his  resignation, 
—  the  result  of  which,  however,  being  that  he  received  a 
reply  from  his  dyspeptic  potentate  more  acrid  than  the 
despatch. 

It  was  clear  enough  now  that  we  could  neither  intercept 
Lee  nor  take  him  at  a  disadvantage ;  therefore  it  only 
remained  to  us  to  meet  him  wherever  he  would  choose  to 
stand.  While  the  main  army  hung  about  the  Warrentons, 
detachments  were  pushed  out  ten  or  twelve  miles  to  the 
front  and  the  rear ;  and  my  division  was  sent  to  Green 
wich.  As  we  entered  that  quiet  town  and  halted  beneath 
a  grove  which  sheltered  a  picturesque  stone  church  by  the 
roadside,  I  observed  that  the  church,  as  well  as  a  gate 
opposite  which  shut  off  a  veritable  English  lawn,  surround 
ing  a  pretty  cottage  on  the  hillside,  and  two  or  three  small 
cottages  in  our  front,  were  placarded  as  "  the  property  of 
a  British  subject,"  to  whom  several  Union  generals,  among 
them  Meade  and  Kilpatrick,  had  given  safeguards.  I  was 
reflecting  upon  the  awkwardness  of  the  thing  if  all  Green 
wich  were  owned  by  some  sturdy  Briton,  and  the  effect 

11 


162  A  WAR   DIARY. 

upon  the  inalienable  rights  of  foraging  soldiers,  when  I 
saw  approaching  a  figure  which  I  could  not  doubt  was  the 
veritable  British  subject  whose  domain  we  had  invaded. 
•He  was  a  burly-looking  man,  mounted  on  a  stout  cob, 
with  an  umbrella  folded  under  his  arm.  Inquiring  for  the 
General  as  he  approached,  he  invited  me  to  visit  him,  take 
a  glass  of  wine,  make  my  headquarters  at  his  house,  and 
(more  important  still)  to  give  him  a  guard.  "  I  am  a  Brit 
ish  subject,"  he  said,  "  and  have  protection  ;  this  is  all  my 
property,  and  I  should  like  three  sentinels."  My  British 
friend,  as  I  afterward  discovered,  had  married  a  wife  whose 
estates,  —  one  in  Georgia  and  three  in  Virginia,  —  he  oc 
cupied  and  defended,  under  the  claim  of  exemption  from 
the  seizures  of  war,  as  a  British  subject  and  a  neutral. 
However,  glad  to  escape  the  intense  heat,  I  accompanied 
him  to  his  house  with  my  staff,  where  we  were  regaled 
by  a  delicious  draught  of  sherry  and  ice.  Being  intro 
duced  to  his  family, — consisting  of  his  wife,  children,  and 
a  lady  friend,  all  refined  and  disposed  to  be  hospitable, 
although  of  Southern  birth,  and  of  course  rank  Secessionists, 
—  we  were  soon  quite  at  home,  inquiring  about  each  other's 
friends  and  relatives,  as  similarity  of  name  suggested  kinship. 
I  could  not  doubt  that  these  manifestations  of  hospitality 
were  selfishly  made  for  greater  security  from  aggressions  on 
my  British  subject's  hen-roosts,  spring-house,  grain-fields, 
and  fences ;  but  this  was  no  reason  why  we  should  not  enjoy 
the  time  not  occupied  in  proper  military  dispositions  for 
watchfulness  and  defence,  particularly  as  the  day,  —  the 
1st  of  August,  —  was  extremely  hot,  the  hottest  we  had  felt. 
From  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  had  been  march 
ing  on  dusty  roads ;  many  men  had  fallen  out  from  ex 
haustion,  and  all  had  suffered;  but  the  bravest  would  not 
succumb. 

With  other  materiel  belonging  to  this  division  I  had 


WITH  THE  AKMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        163 

received  six  soldiers  who  had  been  tried  and  sentenced  to 
be  shot  for  the  crime  of  desertion.  At  Warrenton  Junction 
the  sentences  were  to  have  been  carried  into  execution., 
The  field  had  been  selected,  coffins  made,  and  doom  an 
nounced  ;  but  a  sudden  movement  ordered  for  the  day  had 
caused  a  week's  suspension,  during  [which  five  of  the  fated 
ones  were  recommended  to  the  President  for  pardon.  For 
the  sixth,  however,  a  ringleader,  the  sentence  was  un 
changed  ;  and  again  my  division  was  ordered  to  form  on 
the  morrow  to  witness  his  execution.  The  hopelessness 
of  his  reprieve  had  been  communicated,  the  chaplain  had 
performed  his  last  office,  the  firing  party  had  been  detailed, 
when  again  an  order  to  march  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing  threatened  another  inhuman  interruption,  —  which, 
however,  did  not  happen,  as  will  appear.  With  the  stout 
est  of  the  troops  this  convict  had  marched  sturdily  and 
manfully  to  Greenwich,  following  his  coffin  for  fifteen 
weary  miles.  Here,  at  the  end  of  his  last  march,  his  last 
hour  on  earth  had  come.  A  field  near  the  camp  had  been 
selected,  and  preparations  made  for  a  fitting  termination  of 
the  ghastly  ceremony,  when  the  British  subject,  who  had 
heard  that  his  own  field  was  to  be  devoted  to  this  novel 
use,  bustled  up  to  ask  with  puffy  earnestness,  "  Is  it  true, 
General,  that  you  are  going  to  shoot  one  of  your  men  to 
day?"  Then,  without  awaiting  a  reply,  he  continued, 
"  Now,  my  dear  sir,  you  must  not  think  any  worse  of  me  if 
I  say  this  execution  is  a  dreadful  thing !  And  yet  it  is  an 
incident  of  the  war ;  why,  sir,  it  is  historical,  and,  —  bless 
my  soul,  sir !  —  I  want  to  see  it ;  and,  if  you  do  not  think 
it  improper,  I  should  like  to  take  my  little  boys  with  me." 
"  If  you  are  so  inclined,  you  may,"  I  replied.  And  in 
deed  he  did  so  incline,  for  he  took  a  position  as  near  to 
the  scene  as  he  could  with  safety.  With  umbrella  under 
his  arm,  a  linen  coat  over  his  shoulders,  a  little  dog  in 


164  A  WAR  DIARY. 

front  of  him,  and  three  small  children  (aged  six,  eight,  and 
ten)  by  his  side,  he  was  the  first  on  the  field  and  the  last 
to  leave  it. 

Many  years  ago,  hanging  on  the  wall  of  an  accustomed 
haunt,  I  remember  finding  a  strange  fascination  in  a  coarse 
print  of  a  military  execution.  Often  have  I  stood  spell 
bound  before  the  picture.  The  condemned  kneeling  by 
the  side  of  his  grave,  the  coffin,  the  blindfolded  victim,  the 
platoon  of  soldiers  with  levelled  muskets,  the  coming  word, 
and  in  the  distance  a  horseman  galloping  towards  the  spot, 
waving  in  his  hand  a  pardon.  Could  he  but  fly  !  and  did 
he  reach  there  in  time  ?  I  could  never  forget  the  dreadful 
reality,  even  with  the  consciousness  that  it  was  after  all  but 
a  painting,  a  creation  perhaps  of  the  imagination.  But 
this  execution  at  Greenwich  was  not  a  dream.  Here  there 
was  no  coloring.  A  sad,  stern  duty  was  before  me,  and 
there  was  no  reprieve.  The  hour  had  come ;  and  the  divi 
sion  was  formed  on  three  sides  of  a  hollow  square,  leaving 
the  fourth  with  an  open  grave  and  fresh  earth  on  its  edge, 
when  a  mournful  procession  approached.  Advancing 
slowly,  silently,  a  firing  party  of  six  soldiers  preceded  an 
ambulance  in  which  a  soldier  was  seated  upon  his  coffin,  his 
arms  pinioned  and  his  eyes  cast  down.  The  provost  guard 
followed.  The  ranks  were  motionless ;  all  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  the  condemned.  He  was  assisted  to  the  ground,  the 
soldiers  placed  the  coffin  by  the  side  of  the  grave,  and  then 
the  poor,  unhappy  victim  knelt  upon  his  coffin.  Not  a 
sound  was  heard  save  the  mournful  prayer  and  solemn 
tones  of  the  death  sentence.  Not  a  man  moved,  as  the 
bandage  which  shut  out  forever  the  last  ray  of  God's  sun 
light  was  placed  over  the  eyes  of  one  poor  fellow-being. 
There  was  no  pity  and  no  hope.  I  turned  my  eyes  up 
wards  to  the  clouds  :  they  formed  a  frightful  pile,  a  mon 
ster  Gorgon  looking  down  with  mouth  agape  and  hideous 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        165 

grin.  The  sharp  "  Keady !  aim  ! "  and  then  the  awful 
choking  suspense,  relieved,  —  ah,  how  much  relieved  !  — 
by  the  ringing  volley  which  drowned  that  word  of  dread. 
For  an  instant  the  form  remained  erect,  still  on  its  knees ; 
the  next,  a  corpse  rolled  over  its  last  receptacle  to  the 
brink  of  a  yawning  grave. 

On  their  way  back  to  their  encampments  the  troops 
moved  in  column  by  the  corpse,  Death,  so  real,  had  set 
its  seal  upon  this  human  face  ;  death,  so  solemn,  so  earnest, 
had  driven  a  soul  so  completely  from  its  human  tenement 
that  I  could  hardly  realize  that  this  rigid  form  had  ever 
felt  a  human  passion,  or  given  way  to  human  weakness. 
When  the  last  look  had  been  taken  and  the  field  cleared 
of  troops,  a  small  burial  party  lowered  the  body,  filled  the 
grave  with  earth,  covered  the  slight  mound  with  a  green 
sod,  and  left  the  scene  of  this  tragedy  alone  with  the  dead. 
Of  the  six  guns  in  the  hands  of  the  firing  party  but  five 
were  loaded ;  no  one,  therefore,  could  tell  who  held  the 
blank.  But  four  guns  were  discharged ;  and  from  these 
but  two  bullets  struck  the  condemned  man,  —  one  passing 
through  his  abdomen,  another  through  his  breast,  near  his 
heart.  He  died  without  a  struggle.  He  died,  and  left  no 
word,  save  that,  as  at  last  he  realized  the  awful  truth,  he 
begged  that  he  might  have  an  interview  with  myself  or 
General  Meade.  But  this  was  humanely  denied,  for  I  was 
only  carrying  out  the  will  of  General  Meade,  and  he  had 
passed  relentlessly  upon  his  case.  The  law  had  been 
defied ;  and  so,  at  last,  the  law  was  vindicated. 

For  the  two  following  days  we  saw  much  of  our  English 
host  and  his  family.  At  his  earnest  solicitation,  my  staff 
and  I  took  many  meals  at  his  house.  We  had  frequent 
discussions  upon  the  course  the  English  Government  had 
pursued  in  this  war,  and  we  touched  rather  gingerly  in  the 
presence  of  the  ladies  upon  the  causes  of  the  Eebellion. 


166  A  WAR  DIARY. 

But  the  fact  was  that  this  restive  subject  of  Her  Majesty 
was  so  much  interested  in  compensation  for  losses  by  my 
troops,  that  he  could  really  discuss  nothing  else.  Indeed, 
he  barely  concealed  the  thought  uppermost  in  his  mind, 
"  How  shall  I  get  rid  of  these  Yankees,  get  paid  for  my 
losses,  and  at  the  same  time  conciliate  Mosby,  the  Virginia 
guerilla,  and  explain  to  him  why  I  have  invited  Yankees 
to  my  table  ? "  To  amuse  and  entertain  these  people,  we 
had  music  from  one  of  my  bands  in  front  of  their  house 
at  evening. 

To  my  astonishment  I  was  ordered  to  leave  Greenwich. 
Under  the  impression  that  we  were  to  stay  some  time,  I  had 
extended  my  pickets  for  six  miles ;  but  now  instructions 
came  to  move  back  again  towards  Warrenton.  This  sudden 
departure  troubled  rny  respectable  English  friend,  who  was 
uneasy  about  the  grain  destroyed  by  the  troops,  and  was 
anxious  to  purchase  from  my  commissary,  paying  in  silver 
and  gold.  He  had,  I  discovered,  been  a  resident  of  our 
country  for  thirty  years,  and  during  the  war  had  been  im 
prisoned  in  Fort  Warren  for  three  months,  having  been 
captured  as  a  blockade-runner.  The  feeling  he  enter 
tained  for  us  was  therefore  not  one  of  affection ;  and  in 
this  he  was  in  sympathy  with  his  family,  who  refused  one 
evening  to  drink  a  glass  of  wine  with  me  to  the  restoration 
of  the  Union,  although  they  were  willing  to  drink  to  peace. 
I  had  passed  the  evening  pleasantly  with  this  people,  and 
informed  them  of  my  intended  departure  the  next  day.  I 
could  not  refrain  from  saying  to  the  female  Secessionists, 
with  a  little  irritation  perhaps,  that  peace  could  not  be 
found  save  under  the  broad  shield  of  our  Constitution; 
that  we,  too,  had  Saxon  blood  in  our  veins  ;  that  our  people 
were  brave,  our  men  and  means  inexhaustible ;  that,  like 
them,  we  also  had  mourned  and  pledged  and  suffered  ;  and 
that  we  could  not  therefore  abandon  the  Union  of  these 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        167 

States.  This  unhappy  Briton  had  often  asked  blessings  on 
his  soul  in  astonishment  at  my  opinion  of  the  course  which 
England  had  pursued  in  building  ships  to  commit  depreda 
tions  on  our  commerce,  in  her  persistent  efforts  to  run  our 
blockade,  and  in  her  unfriendly  comments  upon  our  cause. 
He  had  often  gasped,  and  no-noed,  and  blessed  his  soul,  sir, 
and  hoped  not,  as  I  told  him  that  England's  sympathies  and 
England's  treasure  had  been  used  against  us  in  behalf  of 
those  whom  she  considered  her  more  respectable  Southern 
relations ;  and  that  our  people  were  inclined  to  hold  her 
to  a  strict  accountability  for  her  misdeeds.  But  nothing 
interfered  with  hearty  farewells  and  a  seemingly  cordial 
good-by  as  we  parted  to  march  at  daylight. 

On  the  3d  of  August,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
we  set  our  faces  towards  Warrenton,  and  by  six  o'clock 
had  reached  Walnut  Branch,  at  the  crossing  of  the  Cat- 
lett's  Station  and  Greenwich  road,  fiy  an  early  start  we 
had  got  the  benefit  of  all  the  coolness  there  was,  —  it 
being  a  day  of  such  dreadful  heat  that  gasping  was  both 
a  necessity  and  a  task,  —  and  now  set  ourselves  to  work  to 
maintain  a  new  line  of  pickets  where  it  had  been  always 
meant  that  I  should  establish  them,  but  for  the  blunder  of 
somebody  who  sent  me  to  Greenwich.  Here  I  waited  to  see 
what  would  be  the  next  move.  General  Slocum  had  desired, 
and  General  Meade  had  approved,  the  transfer  of  my  divi 
sion  and  of  myself  to  the  Twelfth  Corps,  so  that  the  future 
seemed  to  hold  for  me  in  promise  all  that  I  could  desire. 
Such  were  my  expectations,  when,  like  lightning  from  a  clear 
sky,  came  an  order  which  severed  my  relations  with  the  old 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  sent  me  to  a  different  field. 

It  was  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  August :  I  had  re 
viewed  my  division,  established  pickets,  held  some  inter 
esting  conferences  with  my  officers,  approved  certain  papers 
which  the  British  subject  had  presented  to  establish  his 


168  A  WAR  DIARY. 

claim  for  losses  by  my  command,  and  was  about  half  way 
to  oblivion  in  my  bed,  when  I  was  aroused  by  an  aid,  from 
General  Howard,  with  "  important  despatches  for  General 
Gordon."  By  the  glimmer  of  a  wretched  candle  I  read 
the  startling  order  that  General  Meade  would  send  imme 
diately  General  Gordon's  division  by  rail  to  Alexandria, 
where  he  would  report  by  telegraph  to  Major-General  Hal- 
leek.  While  it  may  be  said  of  a  soldier  that  he  knows  not 
what  a  day  may  bring  forth,  since  his  destiny,  his  fate,  is 
in  the  hands  of  those  who  watch  the  great  game  and  make 
the  grand  combinations  of  war,  yet  a  soldier  may  feel  an 
intensity  of  unpleasantness  in  taking  prescribed  doses,  even 
for  the  good  of  the  body  politic.  But  no  time  for  question 
ing  or  dreaming  remained.  From  the  adjutant-general  to 
the  commanders  of  brigades,  and  from  thence  to  regimental 
commanders,  the  order  sped, —  arousing,  as  the  wave  rolled 
on,  confused  murmurs  of  many  voices,  flashing  of  lights, 
shouting  of  teamsters,  and  inquiring  officers.  Everybody 
wondered ;  my  staff  wondered,  and  surmised,  and  sighed. 
That  we  were  to  be  borne  to  some  other  scene  of  action 
must  be  true ;  but  where  that  scene  was  to  be,  the  order 
did  not  say,  General  Meade  did  not  know,  and  General 
Howard  could  not  imagine.  Long  before  daylight  a  sleepy, 
depressed  column  of  troops  took  up  its  march  for  Catlett's 
Station.  Groping  about  through  the  night  and  until  the 
gray  light  of  morning  broke,  we  found  no  soul  of  whom  to 
inquire,  or,  inquiring,  secure  the  slightest  information  of 
where  transportation  to  Alexandria  was  to  come  from,  or 
when  to  start,  save  a  somnolent  telegraph  operator,  and 
he  could  only  assure  me  that  the  Quartermaster-General  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  asleep,  and  therefore  no 
information  was  to  be  got  from  him  until  he  should  awake 
in  the  morning.  With  nothing,  therefore,  more  palpable 
to  pound  than  the  slender  wire  which  led  to  the  quarters 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        169 

of  this  slumbering  quartermaster,  or  the  luckless  operator 
who  could,  no  more  than  I,  affect  the  drowsy  officials  around 
General  Meade,  we  fell  back  on  restless  chafing  and  a  wink 
of  sleep  in  the  dirt  whereon  we  tumbled,  and  remained 
there  until  eleven  o'clock  of  the  next  day ;  when,  owing  to 
information  from  some  one  who  was  awake,  we  marched  to 
Warrenton  Junction.  There,  at  half-past  five  in  the  after 
noon,  we  were  loaded  into  cattle-cars  and  slowly  hauled 
to  Alexandria,  where  we  arrived  at  half-past  twelve  at 
night,  more  than  twenty-four  hours  from  the  time  when  I 
was  aroused  to  go  forward  immediately  to  that  city. 

As  may  be  presumed,  we  were  sleepy.  Tired  Nature's 
sweet  restorer,  bairn  of  tired  bodies  as  well  as  hurt  minds,  is 
often  a  phantom  to  a  soldier,  a  thing  longed  for,  but  rarely 
enjoyed  in  tranquillity.  In  my  bedroom  at  Alexandria,  how 
ever,  I  met  hosts  of  foes,  more  relentless  and  bloodthirsty 
than  were  the  Southern  forces.  Sleep  was  impossible  ;  so  I 
passed  the  night  sitting  bolt  upright  in  full  dress,  to  receive 
in  the  morning  the  sympathies  of  my  dolt  of  a  landlord, 
who  assured  me  that  he  knew  one  of  those  beds  was  oc 
cupied,  and  meant  to  have  so  informed  me.  But  this  I 
doubted ;  believing  the  man  to  be  a  Secessionist,  who  took 
this  shocking  method  of  shedding  Union  blood. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  August  I 
was  ready  to  receive  the  telegram  which  shortly  after  came 
from  General  Halleck,  announcing  that  my  destination 
was  Morris  Island,  South  Carolina,  to  reinforce  Brigadier- 
General  Gillmore ;  and  that  I  must  not  unfold  this  order 
until  I  should  be  at  sea.  Gillmore,  it  appeared,  had  met 
with  a  heavy  loss  in  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  take  Fort 
Wagner  by  assault,  and  had  called  for  reinforcements. 
Halleck,  temporarily  commander-in-chief,  casting  his  eyes 
over  the  pages  which  recorded  his  disposable  force,  paused 
long  enough  on  the  Eleventh  Corps  to  resolve  that  my 


170  A   WAR  DIARY. 

division  should  respond  to  Gillmore's  call,  and  that  Howard, 
with  the  remainder  of  the  corps,  should  reinforce  Rose- 
crans,  who  at  Tennessee  had  met  with  as  bad  luck  as  had 
Gillmore  in  South  Carolina.  As  we  could  not  go  to  sea  in 
river  boats,  and  only  river  boats  were  at  the  disposal  of  the 
quartermaster,  it  was  determined  that  we  should  sail  for 
Fortress  Monroe,  and  there  meet  ocean  steamers  to  take  us 
to  our  destination.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  August 
we  entered  the  James  River,  and  went  into  camp  at  New 
port  News  to  await  our  ships ;  and  there,  as  some  delay 
occurred,  I  had  time  once  more  to  observe  and  meditate 
upon  this  region,  already  so  prominent  in  the  annals  of 
the  war.  The  little  Monitor  and  the  "  Merrimac,"  New 
port  News  and  the  "  Congress  "  and  the  "  Cumberland,"  of 
what  startling  events  do  these  remind  us  in  the  groping 
darkness  of  the  first  years  of  the  war  !  Hampton,  too,  was 
in  ruins  through  the  vandalism  of  its  commander,  the  Rebel 
Magruder.  Nothing  marked  the  site  of  this  beautiful  vil 
lage  but  fallen  buildings.  Court-house  and  churches,  and 
trees  with  their  luxuriant  shade,  —  all  gone  ;  and  in  their 
place  falling  walls  and  chimneys,  monuments  of  desolation, 
types  of  the  rebellious  spirit  which  would  reduce  our 
Government  to  the  same  condition.  As  I  rode  by  and 
over  the  crumbling  ruins  of  the  five  hundred  brick  build 
ings  which  once  formed  the  town,  a  motley  group  of  negroes 
and  a  few  whites,  sad  and  wan  in  their  want,  came  to  the 
doors  of  flimsy  sheds,  or  gazed  listlessly  out,  wedded  still 
to  home  with  all  its  desolation.  Over  a  frail  and  newly- 
built  structure,  by  the  side  of  the  charred  piers  of  an  old 
bridge,  by  the  standing  pillars  of  the  ruined  court-house,  by 
the  tottering  walls  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  I  wandered 
to  the  end  of  the  village,  where  I  came  to  the  ruins  of  the 
Episcopal  church,  whose  side-walls  and  one  end  were  still 
standing,  — a  picturesque  ruin  in  the  alternating  white  and 


172  A  WAR  DIARY. 

colored  bricks  which  formed  its  courses.  Surrounding  the 
church  was  an  enclosure  in  which  there  were  many  graves 
arid  monuments,  with  commemorative  epitaphs ;  but  they 
were  all  crushed,  chipped,  and  broken  by  the  falling  walls. 
Heavy  granite  tombs  were  covered  with  rubbish,  and  all 
around  was  desolation.  That  all  this  vandalism  should 
have  been  the  work  of  that  Goth  Magruder  upon  the  dwell 
ings,  the  churches,  and  the  graves  of  his  own  people,  was 
suggestive  of  what  might  take  place  should  our  country 
be  invaded  in  a  foreign  war.  It  was  hard  to  realize  that 
this  was  my  own  country. 

Major-General  John  G.  Foster  was  in  command  of  the 
department  of  the  James,  with  headquarters  at  Fortress 
Monroe.  No  longer  the  slim  cadet  of  yore,  he  was  burly  in 
figure  and  six  feet  in  height,  with  a  pleasing  smile  and  genial 
welcome  for  all.  The  movements  of  General  Foster  in 
North  Carolina,  in  his  fight  at  Goldsboro,  and  his  exploits 
on  the  rivers  thereabout,  had  attracted  much  notice,  and 
gained  for  him  the  name  of  a  gallant  and  skilful  officer. 
President  Lincoln  was  delighted  both  with  him  and  with 
his  achievements.  Foster  gave  me  an  account  of  an  inter 
view  which  he  had  with  the  President  after  his  return 
from  North  Carolina,  at  which,  in  the  presence  of  an 
admiring  crowd  of  Congressmen,  Mr.  Lincoln  questioned 
•him  and  repeated  his  answers,  with  his  own  comments 
thereon,  in  an  amusing  way. 

"  How  did  you  get  up  there  ?  "  asked  the  President. 

"I  made  them  think  I  was  going  elsewhere,"  replied 
Foster. 

"  Deceived  them,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln  ;  "  don't  you  see  ? "  — 
turning  to  the  Congressmen.  "  And  how  far  did  you  march 
in  a  day  ?  "  he  continued. 

"  About miles,"  replied  Foster. 

"  He  made miles,"  echoed  the  President,  —  and  so 


WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.        173 

on  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  Our  dear  old  President  was 
so  charmed  with  the  energy  and  skill  and  dash  of  the 
General  that  he  rewarded  him  with  the  command  of  this 
important  avenue  to  Eichmond.  General  Foster  had  just 
made  a  gallant  dash  up  the  James ;  had  looked  into  Fort 
Darling,  run  his  steamers  over  torpedoes,  four  of  which, 
exploding  under  his  boat,  deluged  the  deck  and  almost  blew 
him  out  of  the  water ;  had  received  the  fire  of  batteries 
open  and  concealed ;  had,  in  fact,  gone  far  enough  to  find 
that  the  Eebel  river-way  to  the  Eebel  city  was  still  strongly 
guarded  from  river's  brink  to  river's  bottom. 

On  the  llth  of  August,  the  steamships  "  New  York," 
"Constitution,"  "Empire  City,"  "Spaulding,"  "America," 
"  United  States,"  an'd  "  Nelly  Pentz "  received  my  entire 
division,  and  we  sailed  for  South  Carolina.  After  embark 
ing  her  complement  of  troops  at  Newport  News,  the  "  Em 
pire  City  "  was  directed  to  take  myself  and  staff  on  board 
at  Fortress  Monroe.  In  the  mean  time,  at  General  Foster's 
invitation,  I  had  joined  a  party  of  officers  with  ladies  on 
their  way  to  the  iron-clad,  turreted  ship  "  Eoanoke  "  (cut 
down  from  her  former  size  of  a  sister  ship  of  the  "  Minne 
sota  "),  the  foremost  vessel  awaiting  on  the  James  the  com 
ing  of  those  grim  Eebel  iron-dads,  often  threatened,  from 
Eichmond.  The  "Eoanoke"  was  armed  with  fifteen  and 
eleven  inch  guns,  two  in  each  turret.  The  fifteen-inch  gun 
is  a  formidable  weapon,  as  the  "  Atlanta,"  an  iron-clad 
Eebel  vessel,  discovered.  Inspired  by  gay  company  from 
the  fort,  and  the  hearty  welcome  of  the  naval  officers,  the 
cares  and  perplexities  of  this  world  vanished,  and  we  sur 
rendered  to  the  bewitching  fancies  of  music,  charming 
companions,  and  the  romances  of  an  iron-clad,  until  the 
thick  smoke  of  the  "  Empire  City  "  and  certain  tender  fare 
wells  warned  us  that  our  time  had  come.  We  gave  the 
word,  and  were  soon  ploughing  through  the  waves  of  the 


174  A   WAR  DIARY. 

bay  in  the  strong  night-breeze  out  into  the  broad  Atlantic. 
Behind  us  the  lights  from  the  iron-clads  and  the  fort  grew 
fainter  and  fainter,  until  at  length  they  went  out  beneath 
the  waters,  and  then  we  turned  our  faces  towards  the  land 
that  awaited  us  at  the  seat  of  war  in  South  Carolina. 

As  recorded  in  his  Bible,  Captain  Baxter,  of  the  "  Empire 
City,"  was  bom  in  Osterville,  near  Barnstable,  in  Massa 
chusetts  ;  and  as  recorded  in  the  memory  of  all  who  ever 
sailed  with  him,  he  was  a  good  fellow  and  an  admirable 
seaman.  Such,  indeed,  was  his  sense  of  responsibility  on 
this  trip  that  he  assured  rue  his  whole  time,  night  and  day, 
must  be  devoted  to  his  vessel ;  and  he  pressed  upon  me 
the  use  of  his  state-room,  which  I  accepted  only  upon  his 
repeated  assertion  that  he  should  not  use  it  himself. 

When  officers  and  men  were  comfortably  stowed 
away,  proper  guards  established,  and  officers  assigned  to 
duty,  nothing  remained  but  to  look  out  for  the  "  Alabama," 
enjoy  the  refreshing  sea-breeze,  or  listen  to  the  captain's 
narratives  of  escapes  by  sea  and  by  land.  And  of  the  latter 
he  recalled  more  vividly  his  gratitude  to  God  for  his  escape 
from  "  a  long,  thin  lawyer,"  who  once  in  court  questioned 
him  on  the  witness  stand,  than  from  any  sea  monster  or 
mishap.  "I  shall  know  that  man  again,"  said  Captain 
Baxter,  "  in  this  world  or  the  next ; "  but  as  the  Captain 
acknowledged  having  a  private  arrangement  with  a  short, 
fat  lawyer  on  his  own  side  (a  certain  Boston  notable,  prac 
tising  in  the  United  States  Courts),  by  which  he  was  not 
to  answer  any  questions  until  his  counsel  turned  up  his 
thumb  in  approval,  it  may  be  that  the  long,  thin  brother 
was  much  maligned.  It  was  in  vain  that  I  defended  the 
profession :  Captain  Baxter  was  unmoved.  He  was  "  down 
on  all  lawyers,"  he  said ;  and  he  insisted  that  it  made  no 
good  defence  for  their  bad  manners,  that  a  witness  had 
conspired  to  tell,  during  a  cross-examination,  only  so  much 


SOUTH    CAROLINA.  175 

of  the  truth  as  he  could  find  on  his  own  counsel's  thumb. 
And  this  he  reiterated  with  a  seaman's  voice,  in  sweet  igno 
rance  that  one  general  in  command,  one  colonel,  a  lieuten 
ant-colonel,  and  two  lieutenants  on  his  staff,  —  with  no  one 
knows  how  many  of  the  field,  line  officers,  and  privates,  — 
all  lawyers,  were  under  his  charge  on  his  own  boat. 

At  midnight  I  was  aroused  from  a  deep  sleep  by  the 
captain,  who,  reporting  that  a  steamer  was  in  sight  sig 
nalling  with  blue  lights,  inquired  what  he  should  do  about 
it.  First  shouting  out,  "  Do  what  you  choose,"  I  reconsid 
ered  in  a  moment,  and  plunged  out  on  deck  just  in  time  to 
hear  the  whirring  of  a  shell  and  its  explosion  across  our 
bows,  followed  by  a  rough  hail,  "  What  ship  is  that  ? " 
"  The  '  Empire  City  ! '  What  ship  is  that  ?  " 
"  The  c  Mercedita.'  We  will  send  a  boat  aboard  of  you:' 
Soon  a  boat  came  alongside,  from  which  emerged  a  lieu 
tenant  in  naval  uniform,  who,  when  presented  to  me,  broke 
out  with  profuse  apologies  for  stopping  us ;  saying  that  it 
was  his  duty,  as  our  lights  were  out,  and  he  had  his  sus 
picions  that  we  might  be  a  blockade-runner.  Of  course 
our  lights  were  not  out,  and  the  proceeding  was  vexatious ; 
but  I  embraced  the  opportunity  to  ply  our  visitor  with 
questions,  and  learned  that  he  thought  a  naval  attack  on 
Sumter  had  begun,  because  he  heard  night  before  last  a 
terrible  firing ;  also  that  Dahlgren  had  ordered  up  all  iron 
clads  and  fighting  ships.  Marine  rumors  we  found  gener 
ally  as  untrustworthy  as  this  proved  to  be.  But  they  gave 
us  something  to  talk  about  at  the  breakfast- table. 

On  the  evening  of  the  thirteenth  we  were  off  Charleston. 
At  first  we  could  make  out  dimly  the  tops  of  the  tall  masts 
of  the  "  Wabash "  on  the  outer  circle  of  the  blockading 
fleet ;  then  the  faint  dark  line  of  the  coast-range  came  in 
sight ;  and  then  flashes  of  guns,  and  reports  of  heavy  ord 
nance  breaking  out  from  the  indistinct  gloom,  were  borne 


176  t         A  WAR  DIARY. 

to  us  over  the  waters  from  Morris  Island,  as  near  as  we 
could  make  out,  with  but  few  if  any  responses  from  Sumter 
or  Wagner.  Anchoring  near  the  flag-ship  (the  "  Wabash  "), 
which  is  en  regie  when  the  army  invades  the  domain  of 
the  navy,  we  soon  learned  from  an  officer  who  boarded  us 
that  the  projected  attack  upon  Sumter  with  our  heavy 
guns  had  not  yet  been  made,  though  it  was  promised  for 
the  next  day,  or  at  farthest  within  two  or  three  days ;  also 
that  the  Eebels  had  been  erecting  batteries  on  James 
Island  to  take  ours  on  Morris  Island  in  reverse,  but 
that  we  had  established  counter  batteries,  and  it  was 
surmised  that  the  Eebels  were  evacuating  Fort  Sumter  and 
carrying  their  heavy  guns  to  James  Island,  near  the  city. 
We  learned  further  that  but  little  had  been  done  on  shore 
since  Gillmore's  failure  to  take  Wagner  by  storm,  but  that 
all  were  hopeful.  The  reported  bombardment  of  Fort 
Sumter,  of  which  we  had  heard  two  or  three  days  before  at 
Hampton  Eoads,  was  due,  we  were  told,  to  the  opening  of 
Eebel  guns  from  Wagner  and  Sumter  upon  our  working 
parties,  through  information  carried  to  the  enemy  by  two 
escaped  sutlers  whom  Gillmore  had  ordered  to  the  trenches 
for  selling  liquor  to  his  troops. 

Late  in  the  evening  I  announced  my  arrival  by  a  note 
to  General  Gillmore.  The  spires  of  the  city,  the  walls  of 
Sumter,  the  blockading  fleet,  and  the  beleaguered  army  were 
shrouded  in  darkness.  Waves  rolled  along  the  sides  of 
our  steamer  as  we  lay  at  anchor  in  the  bay,  and  we  slept, 
gently  rocked  into  slumber  on  their  bosoms,  as  sweetly 
and  as  calmly  as  if  no  great  drama  were  being  enacted 
around  us. 

Daylight  revealed  the  position  of  Loyal  and  Eebel  forces 
with  remarkable  precision.  Sumter,  plainly  cut  against 
sky  and  water,  stood  out  clear  and  well-defined  in  the 
morning  sunlight.  The  "  New  Ironsides,"  lying  under  the 


SOUTH   CAROLINA.  1  /  < 

walls  of  Wagner  to  flank  our  approaching  parallels,  or  render 
futile  the  efforts  of  Kebel  storming  parties,  maintained  her 
position  despite  the  Rebel  shells  which  burst  over  her  iron 
ribs  and  fell  harmless  into  the  water  beyond.  At  the  lower 
end  of  Morris  and  on  the  upper  end  of  Folly  Island  white 
canvas  covered  the  sandy  shores.  Long  lines  of  black 
iron-clad  vessels  and  monitors  flanked  that  part  of  Morris 
Island  occupied  by  our  troops  and  embraced  within  our 
operations ;  and  these,  with  many  gunboats  of  wood  of 
heavy  armament,  enabled  the  navy  to  throw  such  a  deluge 
of  shot  and  shell  for  the  protection  of  Gillmore's  troops,  that 
any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Rebel  garrison  to  make  a 
sortie  must  have  resulted  in  disaster.  On  the  land  side 
the  island  was  protected  by  a  swamp  and  deep  inlet  It 
is  not  strange  that  with  such  naval  co-operation  we  were 
practically  unmolested  in  military  operations  from  Morris 
Island  against  Suinter,  Wagner,  or  Charleston.  Indeed, 
the  problem  of  remaining  where  he  was,  so  long  as  Gill- 
more  chose,  was  unquestioned  and  undisputed  by  an  enemy 
who,  it  might  be  added,  was  utterly  indifferent  to  his 
operations,  so  long  as  he  confined  himself  to  this  barren 
and  useless  occupation.  Moultrieville  and  Fort  Moultrie, 
Charleston  with  its  spires  and  its  buildings,  the  Rebel 
forts  and  battle-flags  and  cannon,  our  fleet  and  our  troops, 
—  a  picturesque  panorama,  —  were  before  us.  While  we 
gazed  upon  this  scene,  the  "  New  Ironsides,"  accompanied 
by  a  monitor  or  two,  steamed  up  under  Sumter's  walls  and 
opened  with  her  eleven-inch  guns.  Sullen  was  the  roar 
and  thick  the  smoke  that  swept  out  over  the  waters  as  her 
shot  and  shell  struck  fairly  the  walls  of  Sumter,  throwing 
up  great  clouds  of  dust  or  tearing  huge  rents  in  the  solid 
structure.  Yet  the  fort  was  silent;  the  challenge  was 
unheeded.  This  was  not  the  time  for  a  persistent  effort ; 
and  the  Union  vessels  withdrew  to  their  anchorage. 

12 


178  A  WAR  DIARY. 

The  sun  rose  high  in  the  heavens,  and  poured  its  hot 
beams  upon  our  heads,  and  still  we  remained  awaiting 
instructions  from  Gillmore.  The  men  meanwhile  amused 
themselves  fishing  for  sharks,  which  were  gliding  spectre- 
like  around  our  ships,  and  severing  from  the  hook  the 
pork  bait  with  a  cut  as  keen  as  if  made  with  a  knife. 
About  half-past  one  in  the  afternoon  a  small  steamer, 
the  "  Escort,"  hove  in  sight,  towing  barges  by  which  the 
troops  and  luggage  were  to  be  conveyed  to  her  decks,  and 
thence  to  shore,  —  for  one  steamer  could  not  lie  along 
another  in  such  a  rough  sea ;  indeed,  it  is  with  the  *  utmost 
difficulty  and  care  that  men  can  be  transferred  from  the 
deck  of  an  ocean  steamer  at  anchor  in  the  offing  into 
launches,  tossed  about  as  they  may  be,  now  up  on  a  top 
pling  wave,  and  now  down  into  a  yawning  gulf  ten  feet 
away.  Clumsy  as  these  soldiers  were,  encumbered  with 
gun  and  knapsack,  it  was  not  strange  that  most  ludicrous 
scenes  were  exhibited  ;  and  small  show  of  usefulness  on 
land  was  predicted  from  the  manner  in  which  our  military 
landlubbers  flopped  around  at  sea.  Up  conies  the  launch, 
riding  on  a  monster  wave,  when  "  Jump  ! "  cries  the  mate. 
The  soldier  hesitates,  until  down  goes  the  launch,  ten  feet 
below,  in  the  trough  of  the  sea,  when  "  Hold  on ! "  bawls 
the  mate ;  and  then  the  soldier  leaps,  is  caught  by  some 
one  who  is  bobbing  about  in  the  launch,  and  deposited 
—  a  lump  of  musket,  knapsack,  and  blue  cloth  —  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat.  A  hundred  times  this  scene  was 
enacted,  until  the  launch  was  filled.  It  was  then  hauled 
off  to  the  smaller  vessel,  where,  in  order  to  gain  its 
deck,  the  same  process,  with  all  its  awkward  display,  is 
reversed. 


SEA   ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  179 


CHAPTER   VII. 

SEA   ISLANDS    OFF   CHARLESTON. 

ON"  the  15th  of  August,  at  noon,  I  bade  farewell  to  the 
kind  and  hospitable  captain  of  the  "  Empire  City," 
and  with  a  box  of  ice,  chickens,  hams,  ducks,  and  mutton 
(the  captain's  considerate  gift),  passed  through  the  fleet 
towards  Stono  Inlet,  and  up  the  narrow  reach  which  sepa 
rates  Morris  and  Folly  islands  from  the  mainland,  to  dis 
embark  at  an  improvised  landing.  Thence  we  marched 
ocean  wards  some  two  or  three  miles  to  the  beach,  where, 
almost  in  the  flying  foam  of  the  surf,  we  made  our  first 
encampment  on  the  shores  of  Folly  Island,  in  South  Caro 
lina ;  and,  with  the  music  of  the  waves  rolling  in  thunder 
tones  from  the  great  restless  ocean,  we  went  suppeiiess  to 
bed,  —  that  booby  of  a  nobody  having  forgotten  to  remove 
the  captain's  timely  gift  from  the  transport. 

As  it  was  reported  that  our  land  batteries  would  open 
upon  Fort  Sumter  the  next  day,  and  that  Gillmore  was 
confident  the  fort  would  be  taken  then,  I  arose  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  (it  was  the  16th  of  August)  on  this 
delectable  island,  breakfasted  on  ham  and  pickles,  galloped 
up  the  beach,  crossed  Light  House  Inlet  to  Morris  Island 
on  the  steamer  "  Planter "  (memorable  for  its  capture  by 
the  negro  pilot  Robert  Small),  and  called  on  Gillmore,  to 
find  him  in  bed,  and  sick.  I  saw  his  chief  of  staff,  how 
ever,  and  learned  from  him  that  the  attack  on  Sumter  had 
been  deferred  until  the  next  day ;  that  our  batteries  were 


SEA   ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  181 

nearly  ready ;  and  that  the  three-hundred  pounder  Par- 
rott,  then  almost  in  position,  would  be  completely  so  that 
night.  Here  I  found  General  Stevenson,  of  Boston,  and 
was  cordially  received  by  this  valued  and  genial  officer, 
and  invited  to  ride  to  the  trenches,  through  which  it  was 
hoped  Wagner  would  be  successfully  taken  this  time. 

Mounting  our  horses,  we  galloped  by  the  encampments 
of  regiments  garrisoning  the  island,  to  within  about  eleven 
hundred  yards  of  Wagner ;  there  we  dismounted  and 
climbed  a  sand-hill,  and  lying  down  behind  small  bushes, 
which  concealed  us  from  the  view  of  the  Rebel  garrison, 
took  with  our  strong  glasses  a  full  survey  of  the  scene.  By 
parallels  and  ~boyaux  Gillmore  had  approached  to  within 
three  hundred  yards  of  Wagner.  The  deep  ditches,  which 
the  busy  sappers  were  still  making,  stretched  away  at  our 
feet  for  eight  hundred  yards  to  our  front.  About  a  mile 
beyond,  Sumter  rose  calmly  from  the  sea.  Sullivan's  Island 
we  saw  on  Sumter's  right,  with  James  Island  and  the  spires 
of  Charleston  on  its  left ;  while  batteries  innumerable,  with 
heavy  guns  on  all  their  points,  confronted  us.  Stretching 
away  to  our  right,  and  forming  a  semicircle  around  the 
entrance  to  the  harbor,  was  our  fleet,  —  monitors  and  iron 
sides  and  frigates.  Nearly  all  of  them  were  ready  to  join 
in  a  concentrated  fire  upon  the  doomed  forts  and  city. 
Within  the  estimated  range  of  our  two  and  three  hundred 
pounder  Parrotts,  within  the  range  of  the  naval  battery  of 
captured  Whitworths,  which  was  manned  by  sailors  anx 
ious  to  take  part  in  the  coming  bombardment,  stood  as 
targets  Sumter,  Wagner,  and  Gregg,  the  latter  occupying 
the  end  of  Morris  Island.  Over  this  panoramic  view  my 
eye  wandered,  until  the  whole  gradually  assumed  the  form 
and  shape  of  a  definite  plan.  Burrowing  within  or  upheav 
ing  the  sandy  bed  of  the  islands,  to  attack  with  impunity 
the  weakest  points  of  the  enemy's  works,  we  had  slowly  but 


182  A  WAR  DIARY. 

surely  approached  under  cover  of  our  protecting  ditches. 
Meanwhile  the  greatest  caution  had  been  necessary  to  pre 
vent  the  enemy  from  making  a  sortie  from  his  works  to 
destroy  ours,  spike  our  guns,  or  kill  and  capture  our  men. 
Long  I  gazed  upon  the  different  sand-piles  thrown  up  by 
the  Eebels  within  the  fair  circle  of  my  vision;  long  I  med 
itated  upon  the  grim  and  silent  mouths  of  the  huge  guns 
behind  those  sandy  bulwarks,  upon  the  indistinct  bodies  of 
workmen  and  soldiers  seen  through  the  lifeless  and  hazy 
air,  —  until  all  seemed  as  unreal  as  a  dream.  But,  hark! 
See  there !  A  white  puff  rose  from  the  mound-like  fort 
on  James  Island ;  a  shell  screamed  and  burst  with  a  sharp 
and  angry  crash  which  jarred  the  air  around  us,  and  hurled 
its  fragments  humming  by  our  ears.  Another  and  another 
followed  in  quick  succession.  "  These  are  the  first  from 
that  spot,"  said  General  Stevenson.  "  And  for  my  benefit, 
perhaps,"  I  replied,  as,  slowly  turning,  and  crouching 
through  ditch  or  covered  by  traverse,  we  made  our  way  to 
our  horses,  and  thence  to  General  Gillmore's  tent. 

At  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  seventeenth,  from  the 
deck  of  the  steamer  "  Maple-leaf,"  at  anchor  near  a  whole 
fleet  of  monitors,  I  awaited  the  combined  naval  and  land 
demonstration  which  was  to  knock  Sumter  into  smithers, 
and  open  wide  the  gates  of  the  city  of  Charleston.  No  posi 
tion  on  shore  was  so  favorable.  It  had  been  necessary  to 
steam  out  the  evening  before,  and  wait  at  anchor  for  the 
early  dawn.  The  night  had  been  one  of  disturbances.  We 
were  just  off  Wagner,  near  Fort  Sumter  and  Sullivan's 
Island,  not  only  with  an  unobstructed  view,  but  in  good 
shelling  range  of  batteries  from  those  hostile  works,  if  the 
enemy  had  seen  fit  to  turn  his  attention  to  us. 

What  a  night  that  was  !  The  anticipations  of  the  com 
ing  day,  the  rocking  and  rolling  of  my  little  steamer  on  the 
ocean  waves,  with  the  eternal  banging  of  her  rudder-head 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  183 

as  she  swung  hither  and  thither  on  the  swift-running  tide 
of  Charleston  bar,  the  bright  stars  above,  the  wash  of 
waves,  the  distant  hum  of  voices  from  the  fleet,  the  roar  of 
heavy  guns  from  Wagner  ploughing  up  the  land  against 
our  advancing  trenches,  making  our  engineers'  work  in 
them  a  dance  of  death,  a  warfare  unfamiliar  to  a  lands 
man,  —  all  these  things  made  me  so  wakeful  that  the  first 
opening  gun  of  a  monitor  at  three  o'clock  found  no  sleepy 
listener  in  me. 

A  little  after  daylight  our  shore  batteries  opened.  At 
seven  o'clock  the  monitors,  iron-clads,  and  wooden  gun 
boats  went  in.  The  scene  was  exciting.  From  the 
trenches  our  large  Parrotts,  with  an  accurate  range,  pene 
trated  Sumter's  gorge  above  the  sand-bags.  And  this 
was  as  Gillmore  supposed  it  would  be.  Three  hours 
passed ;  Sumter  was  still  silent.  For  any  sign  of  life 
we  saw  or  heard,  every  man  within  the  battered  walls 
might  have  been  killed.  The  only  moving  thing  was  the 
fluttering  flag  that  still  waved  on  its  staff.  Was  this  a 
ruse  ?  Nearer  and  nearer  the  monitors  stole.  Lazily,  but 
with  a  conscious  show  of  strength,  the  huge  form  of  the 
"Ironsides"  followed;  and  in  its  wake,  with  a  temerity 
not  born  of  iron  walls,  eight  wooden  gunboats  drew  near 
to  Cumming's  Point.  From  here  and  from  Wagner  a  spite 
ful  fire  was  maintained  upon  our  fleet ;  but  the  sailors  for 
more  than  five  hours  stood  by  their  guns,  hurling  the  sand 
in  cartloads  from  the  parapets.  Then  Wagner  ceased  its 
fire,  and  Sumter  opened.  It  was  now  one  o'clock.  Fire 
from  the  land  batteries  had  slowed  down,  as  if  from 
fatigue.  And  so  our  effort  ended.  Beyond  a  gallant 
attack,  we  had  accomplished  nothing  more  than  pier 
cing  holes  in  Sumter  and  knocking  sand  about  Wagner. 
The  naval  vessels  retired  to  their  anchorage,  carrying  their 
flags  at  half-mast.  Iron  walls  had  not  excluded  death; 


184  A   WAR   DIARY. 

Captain  Eodgers  had  fallen,  killed  by  a  piece  of  iron  driven 
from  the  grating  in  his  pilot-house  by  a  steel  shot,  while 
he  was  gallantly  steering  his  vessel  into  the  thickest  of  the 
fight.  Near  him,  and  from  the  same  cause,  fell  Paymas 
ter  Woodbury,  his  acting  aid.  These  officers,  and  a  few 
wounded,  covered  all  our  casualties. 

At  five  in  the  afternoon  I  steamed  towards  Stono  Inlet, 
to  my  camp.  As  the  sun  threw  its  rays  upon  the  western 
face  of  Sumter,  its  yellow  walls  shone  out  marked  and 
pitted  by  our  guns.  One  hundred  times  and  more  our 
solid  shot  had  entered ;  and  this  had  given  strength  to  the 
belief  that  if  our  attack  should  be  incessant  and  remorse 
less,  at  irresistible  ranges,  the  Eebel  fort  was  doomed.  With 
an  attack  later  in  the  day  by  two  monitors  upon  Wagner, 
and  by  guns  on  Cumming's  Point,  in  which  nothing  effec 
tual  was  accomplished,  demonstrations  ceased  by  land 
and  sea.  By  this  day's  proceeding,  from  which  much  had 
been  promised,  we  had  accomplished  nothing. 

On  the  morning  of  the  eighteenth  fire  from  our  shore 
batteries  was  resumed  ;  but  the  effect  was  not  as  good'  as 
on  the  day  before,  owing  to  a  high  wind,  which  blew  the 
sand  about  in  a  most  uncomfortable  way,  deranging  the  aim 
of  the  gunners  or  the  projectiles,  or  both.  I  had  a  tine 
view  of  Sumter  and  of  this  day's  operations  from  the  deck 
of  the  gunboat  "  McDonough,"  —  a  quondam  ferry-boat 
lying  at  anchor  in  Light  House  Inlet.  The  coping  had 
been  knocked  away  ;  the  western  face  perforated  with  holes 
innumerable.  From  cotton-bales  and  sand-bags  cotton  and 
sand  in  one  mingled  mass  covered  the  ruin.  As  yet  the 
three-hundred  pounder  Parrott  had  not  been  mounted  ;  but 
in  a  swamp  to  our  left  our  men  were  piling  up  countless 
sand-bags  to  cover  a  two-hundred  pounder  Parrott  gun 
which  should  carry  as  far  as  Charleston  itself.  The  inflow 
from  the  ocean  that  separates  Morris  from  Folly  Island,  and 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  185 

these  islands  from  the  mainland,  begins  and  ends  near  the 
great  source  of  supply,  —  the  ocean  itself.  These  inlets 
form  a  quiet  channel  of  communication  behind  the  sand- 
dunes  from  North  Carolina  to  the  Gulf.  By  such  an 
avenue  Gillmore  filled  his  sand-bags  at  the  shore  and 
conveyed  them  at  night  without  great  exposure  to  the 
desired  spot  for  his  battery  in  the  low  ground  or  marsh. 
When  daylight  lit  up  what  had  previously  been  thought 
to  be  an  inaccessible  spot,  it  revealed  this  sand-bag  fort, 
which  had,  like  Jonah's  gourd,  grown  up  in  a  single  night. 
The  enemy,  from  James  and  from  Sullivan's  islands,  bat 
tered  it  with  savage  vengeance,  though  with  so  little  effect 
that  Gillmore  expressed  satisfaction  with  this  day's  results. 
This  enormous  expenditure  of  treasure,  this  sad  loss  of  life 
from  disease  and  powder,  should,  we  thought,  be  followed 
by  nothing  less  than  the  reduction  of  Sumter  and  the  occu 
pation  of  all  the  Eebel  forts  around  it. 

I  awoke  on  the  morning  of  the  nineteenth  to  a  reveille 
of  heavy  guns  which  shook  the  ground.  The  night  had 
been  a  sleepless  one ;  it  was  filled  with  fearful  sounds. 
The  winds  roared  and  shook  my  frail  tent  like  a  leaf ;  the 
waves  were  hoarse  with  tumult ;  demons  of  the  storm  and 
evil  passions  of  men  seemed  to  howl  in  concert.  Again  I 
found  myself  on  the  gunboat,  trying  to  count  the  new  holes 
in  Sumter's  battered  walls ;  again  viewing  with  satisfac 
tion  huge  rents  of  some  nine  square  feet  (the  results  of 
the  fire  of  yesterday),  or  speculating  upon  how  long  a 
fort  could  hold  out  whose  gorge  angles  had  been  battered 
down,  the  coping  knocked  away,  and  dreadful  havoc  done 
to  masonry,  — and  this,  too,  though  the  three-hundred 
pounder  Parrott  had  not  yet  opened  its  ponderous  jaws, 
nor  had  the  angel  of  death  been  mounted  in  the  marsh  bat 
tery.  Still  the  enemy  was  defiant.  From  James  Island 
he  delivered  a  continuous  fire,  which  dashed  in  upon  our 


186  A  WAR  DIARY. 

left ;  from  Johnson,  wherever  it  would  hurt  most ;  and  from 
Sullivan,  a  fire  feeble  and  sputtering,  —  and  this  went  on 
until  sunset.  Throughout  the  night  the  heavy  thud  of 
guns  mingled  with  the  ceaseless  roar  of  the  ocean. 

The  morning  of  the  twentieth  dawned  on  the  fourth  day 
of  the  assault  upon  Sumter.  The  siege  went  on.  Flanks 
and  faces  had  been  battered  until  they  were  scarcely  distin 
guishable.  Arches  of  the  casemates  now  began  to  show 
themselves,  stuffed  with  sand-bags,  —  a  fort  within  a  fort. 
The  besieged  in  this  manner,  as  the  old  front  fell  away,  built 
a  new  one,  —  using  for  this  purpose  the  bricks  which  our 
shot  had  beaten  into  sand.  General  Gillmore  promised  that 
the  siege  should  end  in  twelve  days  ;  for  by  that  time  the 
navy  would  be  able  to  sail  through  the  pathway  he  would 
have  cleared,  and  to  summon  the  city  to  surrender.  We 
understood  that  this  was  agreed  to  by  those  in  charge  of 
the  fleet. 

The  hope  of  the  besiegers,  the  three-hundred  pounder 
Parrott  gun,  had  not  opened  during  all  this  time ;  small 
stones  in  the  vent,  which,  it  was  said,  had  been  crushed  in 
while  moving  it,  were  to  be  picked  out,  —  and  this  caused 
delay.  Nor  had  the  two-hundred  pounder  Parrott  in  the 
marsh  battery  opened,  —  the  gun  that  was  meant  to  strike 
terror  into  Sumter,  and  drive  the  garrison  into  the  sea ;  the 
gun  that  was  to  riddle  Charleston  like  a  sieve,  and  make 
the  very  source  and  fountain  of  Eebellion  dry  as  the  des 
ert  of  Sahara.  That  the  Eebels  feared  perhaps  as  much 
as  we  hoped  from  this  battery  would  seem  to  follow  from 
the  unmitigated  ferocity  with  which  they  turned  their  guns 
upon  its  sandy  walls.  There  it  stood,  —  alone,  silent,  in 
the  marshes.  The  sun  illuminated  its  slanting  faces,  and 
mottled  with  darker  spots  the  uneven  lines  of  its  sand-bag 
sides.  Kebel  shell  and  shot  kept  crashing  around  it; 
Union  hearts  were  beating  hopefully  within  it.  Marsh 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  187 

Angel,  Swamp  Angel,  the  soldiers  and  sailors  had  christened 
the  large  gun.  We  were  impatient  to  have  it  tried,  for  the 
belief  began  to  strengthen  that  we  were  making,  or  might 
make,  Sumter  stronger,  instead  of  rendering  it  untenable. 
Such  a  possibility  the  commander  seemed  not  to  have  con 
sidered  ;  for  to  a  question  of  what  he  should  do  if  such 
should  be  the  case,  he  replied,  "  I  do  not  know." 

Our  operations  were  twofold,  —  the  possession  of  the 
whole  of  Morris  Island,  and  the  knocking  down  of  Sumter. 
As  yet  we  occupied  but  half  the  former.  Wagner  stretched 
across  the  island  in  our  front,  and  the  strong  battery  on  its 
northern  point  sent  its  greeting  to  our  trenches.  Whether 
it  would  have  been  wise  or  not  to  have  used  all  our  powers 
in  the  occupation  of  the  whole  of  Morris  Island  before 
planting  our  batteries  against  Sumter,  it  was  too  late  then 
to  discuss.  So  delicious  a  temptation  as  that  of  battering 
the  notorious  Eebel  fort  as  soon  as  he  could  reach  it  with 
a  single  gun,  was  too  much  for  Gillmore.  Besides,  the 
report  that  Gillmore  was  "knocking  Sumter  about  the  ears 
of  its  Eebel  occupants,  was  what  every  one  was  glad  to 
hear ;  and  it  was  pleasing  to  know  that  the  cry  of  "  Sumter, 
defiant  Sumter,  is  falling ! "  was  echoing  through  the  North. 
Moreover,  was  it  not  proved  by  book  and  precept,  by  plan 
and  figures,  that  Sumter  could  be  reached  and  penetrated 
from  batteries  midway  up  the  island ;  from  batteries  which 
were  constantly  exposed  to  Wagner's  plunging  fire ;  from 
batteries  planted  in  our  parallels,  under  Wagner's  very  walls  ? 
But  though  this  could  be  done  by  gallant  men,  could  it  be 
done  as  efficiently  ?  And  that  question  was  always  evaded. 

Under  all  the  circumstances  it  was  perhaps  too  much 
to  expect  that  Gillmore  should  refrain  from  hitting  Sum 
ter  with  his  great  guns,  even  though  Wagner  stood  in  his 
path,  menacing  his  operations  and  shutting  out  the  pos 
sibility  of  accomplishing  anything  thereby..  To  be  sure, 


188  A  WAR  DIARY. 

our  engineers  were  slowly  approaching  the  parapet  of  the 
fort,  and  it  was  hoped  that  by  regular  approaches  we  could 
accomplish  what  Gillmore  had  failed  to  do  by  assault.  In 
the  first  blush  of  Gillmore' s  successful  landing  on  Morris 
Island  he  had  hastened  to  the  assault  of  Wagner.  On  its 
parapet,  sleeping  in  common  earth,  lay  many  brave  men, 
white  and  colored,  victims  of  a  plan  in  which  regular 
approaches  were  overlooked,  weak  points  neglected,  a 
proper  hour  disregarded ;  to  whom  reinforcements  were  not 
sent,  nor  a  pathway  levelled  for  them  with  artillery ;  nor, 
finally,  was  the  commanding  General  (as  all  eye-witnesses 
agree)  where  he  could  either  know  or  direct  their  advance, 
their  management,  or  their  retreat.  In  vain,  alas  !  in  vain, 
did  these  brave  soldiers  stumble  from  one  impediment  to 
another,  groping  from  ditch  to  parapet,  falling  by  scores 
beneath  the  murderous  fire  of  the  foe,  or  mangled  by  tor 
pedoes  under  the  sands  at  their  feet.  Some  gallant  men 
reached  the  parapet,  but  to  be  stricken  down  upon  the  very 
goal  of  their  efforts ;  some  sank  at  its  foot ;  others  filled 
the  ditches,  dead  and  dying  as  they  were.  And  all  along 
from  where  the  well-defined  range  of  Wagner's  guns  could 
tell,  the  slain  covered  the  ground,  monuments  of  folly  and 
of  woe.  Our  loss  was  terrible.  In  generals  we  mourned 
Strong;  and  in  colonels,  Shaw.  'Others  as  brave  as  these, 

—  that  multitude  of  nameless   ones,  the  rank  and  file, 
the  non-commissioned,  wTho,  cheered  by  ho  hope  of  public 
recognition,  conscious  that  living  or  dying  their  sole  re 
ward  must  be  the  approbation  of  their  own  consciences, 

—  many  of  them  of  the  proscribed,  the  enslaved  race,  with 
not  even  a  Christian  name  or  home,  with  nothing  to  mark 
them  -save  the  form  of  a  human  being,  —  these  I  cannot 
name ;  I  can  only  say  that  they  fought  and  fell,  and  on 
their  bodies,  stiff  and  stark,  the  rising  sun  looked  down 
on  white  and.  colored,  named  and  nameless,  side  by  side. 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  189 

Save  that  the  grandeur,  the  sublimity  of  these  deaths 
raised  the  colored  man  to  a  higher  plane  of  manhood,  and 
weakened  the  shackles  of  slavery  all  over  the  world,  we 
had  gained  nothing.  These  facts  may  be  confirmed  by  the 
testimony  of  many  still  living. 

In  this  second  effort  to  capture  Wagner  the  system  of 
approaches  offered  an  easy  and  a  sure  solution  of  the  prob 
lem.  Aided  by  the  ships,  on  which  great  guns  were  floated 
within  excellent  range,  a  new  parallel  had  been  begun; 
and  although  from  all  divisions  a  large  quota  was  furnished 
to  that  remorseless  enrolling  officer  Death,  the  work  went 
manfully  on.  Gillmore  had  expressed  great  satisfaction 
with  results  so  far  attained.  "  I  consider  my  part  of  the 
work  almost  ended,"  he  said  on  the  morning  of  the  21st  of 
August,  as  from  the  deck  of  the  "  McDonough  "  he  scanned 
the  horizon  with  his  glass.  These  words,  spoken  of  Sum- 
ter,  afforded  pleasing  reflections  upon  our  four  days  of 
bombardment,  our  forty  (more  or  less)  of  occupation  of  this 
sand  island,  and  upon  the  death  and  disease  that  had 
wasted  our  forces.  An  outside  view  of  battered  Sumter 
was,  however,  encouraging  to  the  besiegers.  The  gorge 
seemed  to  me  to  be  destroyed,  and  a  practicable  breach, 
so  far  as  I  could  judge  (and  my  view  was  good),  had 
been  made.  Mortars  and  gun-carriages,  sand-bags  and 
cotton-bales  were  mingled  in  confusion.  The  sea-faces, 
though  thicker  than  the  land,  not  being  so  well  pro 
tected  by  sand-bags,  showed  the  effect  of  our  fire.  The 
three-hundred  pounder  Parrott,  at  last  at  work,  was  making 
generally  fine  shots,  and,  with  its  range  of  from  only  two 
to  two  and  one  half  miles,  tearing  away  stone  and  bricks 
where  both  had  not  been  already  beaten  into  dust.  These 
ranges  measured  the  greatest  and  the  least  distances  of  our 
guns  from  Sumter  ;  and  although  they  were  so  exceptional, 
they  became  really  insignificant  when  compared  with  the 


190  A  WAR  DIAKY. 

achievements  of  the  marsh  battery,  which  was  so  long 
delayed  that  the  soldiers  changed  its  name  from  Marsh 
Angel  and  Swamp  Angel,  which  characterized  our  hopes, 
into  "Battery  Useless,"  to  illustrate  our  despair.  This, 
however,  at  last  promised  to  repay  the  expenditure  of  sand 
bags,  powder,  time,  labor,  and  material — animate  and 
inanimate  —  which  had  been  intrusted  to  Gillmore  for  the 
destruction  of  the  city  of  Charleston  itself. 

Although  it  was  believed  that  Sumter  was  nearly  done 
for,  and  that  therefore  the  most  important  obstruction  to 
an  entrance  to  the  harbor  of  Charleston  was  removed,  Gill- 
more  could  not  refrain  from  anticipating  the  possible  entry 
of  the  navy,  by  sending  his  compliments  in  advance  from 
the  marsh  battery.  Accordingly  he  notified  the  Eebel 
Beauregard  that  women  and  children  must  be  sent  out  of 
the  city.  Hardly,  however,  had  this  notice  reached  its 
destination,  when  the  Eebels  in  Wagner,  strangely  indiffer 
ent  to  the  condition  of  Sumter  or  to  the  doom  impending 
over  Charleston,  became  so  actively  alive  with  their  rifles 
that  they  knocked  out  of  this  world  (into,  let  us  hope,  a 
better)  so  many  of  our  troops  as  to  cause  doubt  to  be 
thrown  upon  Gillmore's  pen-and-ink  sketch  of  how  to  take 
Wagner.  In  his  extremity  at  this  impudence  (Charleston 
and  Sumter  being  in  such  imminent  peril),  naval  aid  was 
again  invoked,  even  at  the  expense  of  sharing  the  glory  of 
Wagner's  capture.  And  again  the  iron-clads  flanked  our 
advanced  positions  on  Morris  Island,  and  poured  from  their 
great  guns  such  a  deluge  of  canister  that  the  Eebel  rifle 
men  were  like  gnats  in  the  throat  of  Vesuvius. 

Of  the  immense  value  of  our  navy  in  operations  upon 
this  narrow  island,  one  can  hardly  speak  too  strongly. 
By  the  aid  of  naval  boats  working  on  our  flanks  we  had 
advanced  our  siege  operations  with  little  loss  and  less 
hard  fighting.  These  floating  batteries  kept  down  the 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHAELESTON.  191 

Eebel  riflemen,  while  our  sappers  operated  undisturbed. 
Meanwhile  the  hours  passed;  the  Northern  press  filled 
Northern  hearts  with  great  hopes  of  Gillmore,  while  he  in 
the  twilight  of  his  undertakings  pondered  doubtingly  upon 
the  mysterious  silence  of  Surnter,  with  fears  that,  though 
her  proportions  were  once  fairer,  her  ability  for  defence 
was  never  greater.  Could  it  be  possible  that  efforts  to 
reduce  the  fort  had  rendered  it  more  impregnable  ?  The 
high  brick  front  on  its  land  side  had,  it  was  true,  been 
beaten  down;  but  in  its  place  the  ruin  formed  a  low 
breastwork  of  sand,  a  parapet  on  which  the  enemy's  heavy 
guns  were  plainly  seen  by  Gillmore  with  his  glass.  He 
nevertheless  declared,  on  the  sixth  day  of  his  bombard 
ment  (the  22d  of  August),  that  he  "considered  the  fort 
no  longer  a  fit  work  from  which  to  use  artillery,"  and  that 
practically  Suinter  was  reduced.  Looking  at  the  terrible 
effect  of  our  shot  and  shell  as  they  bored  into  its  remaining 
walls,  making  great  breaches  and  throwing  up  immense 
clouds  of  dust,  and  considering  that  two  faces  were  partly 
down  and  cracked,  though  they  had  not  fallen;  that  the 
flag-staff  was  groggy,  too  weak  to  hold  the  diminutive  flag 
which  feebly  floated  but  a  little  way  above  the  coping  from 
a  makeshift  staff,  — it  would  certainly  seem  that  hope  and 
encouragement  might  be  indulged  that  the  first  step  had 
really  been  taken  to  enable  the  navy  to  sail  in  and  hold 
the  city  itself.  But  Gillmore,  affecting  to  believe  that 
he  had  fulfilled  his  contract,  wrote  an  official  note  to 
Admiral  Dahlgren,  claiming  to  have  accomplished  his 
part  of  the  work,  and  affirming  that  there  was  nothing  to 
fear  from  Sumter;  and  subsequently,  though  the  navy 
had  not  the  slightest  thought  of  attempting  it,  he  assured 
us  that  the  fleet,  with  their*  powerful  floating  batteries  and 
armored  ships,  would  steam  that  night  by  the  disabled  fort. 
Powerless  as  the  land  forces  were  to  make  headway  in  this 


192  A  WAR  DIARY. 

harbor  without  naval  co-operation,  and  anxious  as  Gillmore 
was,  and  Dahlgren  may  have  been,  each  to  put  the  blame 
of  failure  on  the  other,  it  was  apparent  to  all  but  Gillmore 
that  not  now,  if  ever,  should  the  navy  be  charged  with  hold 
ing  back,  or  with  irresolution.  Nevertheless  such  charges 
were  made,  and  spread  abroad  in  the  daily  papers  of  the 
North,  with  the  knowledge  of  the  commander  of  the  land 
forces,  who  thus  sought,  by  inculpating  gallant  men  in  a  gal 
lant  service,  to  vindicate  his  fame  from  the  severe  reflections 
of  critics  upon  the  smallness  of  his  performances  when  com 
pared  with  the  greatness  of  his  high-sounding  manifestoes. 

At  last  the  two-hundred  pounder  Parrott  gun  in  the 
marshes  was  ready.  It  opened  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning  of  the  twenty-second,  firing  fifteen  shells  filled 
with  an  incendiary  composition.  The  gun  was  loaded  with 
fifteen  pounds  of  powder,  elevated  thirty-one  degrees,  and 
directed  towards  the  Rebel  city,  distant  five  and  one  sixth 
miles.  It  was  uncertain  whether  the  elevation  was  suffi 
cient,  although  the  bells  of  the  city  churches  were  heard 
ringing  out  an  alarm.  The  effect  of  this  fire  was  made 
known  to  us  on  the  twenty-second ;  on  that  day  Beaure- 
gard  replied  to  Gillmore's  threat  of  what  he  would  do  with 
his  marsh  battery.  Only  on  condition,  Gillmore  had  writ 
ten,  that  Beauregard  would  surrender  Sumter  (which  Gill- 
more  in  his  note  said  had  been  battered  into  uselessness, 
so  that  it  was  hardly  able  to  stand),  with  Eorts  Wagner  and 
Gregg  on  Cumming's  Point,  would  he  refrain  from  throw 
ing  shells  into  the  city.  Four  hours  were  given  for  a  reply, 
which  would  bring  the  time  to  four  o'clock  on  the  21st  of 
August.  But  the  letter  was  without  signature,  and  Beau- 
regard  returned  it,  addressed  "  to  whom  it  may  concern." 
It  was  received  by  Gillmore  on  the  twenty-second,  and  sent 
back  immediately,  properly  acknowledged.  Beauregard  at 
once  sent  a  reply,  which  was  substantially  as  follows :  He 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  193 

acknowledged  the  receipt  of  a  communication,  —  which  he 
said  he  did  not  see  for  two  hours  after  it  reached  his  office, 
as  he  was  out  reconnoitring  his  batteries,  —  in  which  he, 
Gillmore,  demanded  the  surrender  of  Sumter  (almost 
knocked  to  pieces'),  of  Wagner  and  Gregg,  with  a  threat 
that  on  refusal  he  would  open  upon  Charleston,  a  battery 
having  been  erected  for  that  purpose.  Beauregard  then 
continued :  — 

"This  communication  not  being  signed,  I  returned  it.  But 
in  the  mean  time,  as  two  hours  of  the  four  have  been  lost  by  my 
absence,  and  two  more  must  necessarily  ensue  before  a  reply 
could  reach  you,  the  time  will  be  up  when  you  threaten  to  open 
upon  a  city  filled  with  defenceless  women  and  children,  and  hos 
pitals.  You  have  already  thrown  shells  filled  with  the  most 
destructive  composition  known  in  warfare  into  the  heart  of  this 
city,  and  this  without  sufficient  warning  —  according  to  the 
usages  of  nations  not  barbarous  —  to  non-combatants  to  seek 
places  of  safety.  By  such  deeds  you  will  not  make  much  of  a 
name  for  yourself  in  history,  and  your  deeds  will  be  monstrous 
even  in  this  war.  I  shall  not  surrender  Sumter,  Gregg,  or  Wag 
ner.  Why  do  you  not  ask  for  forts  on  James  Island  and  Moul- 
trie  also  1  After  two  years  of  trial  you  have  failed  to  capture 
this  city  or  its  defences ;  and  I  now  give  you  solemn  warning, 
that,  if  you  carry  out  your  threat,  I  will  retaliate  according  to 
the  best  of  the  means  in  my  power." 

To  this  Gillmore  sent  the  following,  at  fifteen  minutes 
after  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-second : 

"  My  letter  to  you  was  not  signed,  through  inadvertence.  You 
have  had  two  years  to  prepare  your  city  against  an  attack,  and 
have  at  length  been  unable  to  do  so.  During  that  time,  and 
especially  during  the  last  forty  days,  you  have  had  ample  notice 
of  my  intention  to  bombard  your  city  and  destroy  your  defences. 
You  have  had  all  your  avenues  to  the  rear  open  and  at  your 
disposal.  You  have  therefore  strictly  no  right  to  any  notice 
whatever  before  bombardment ;  but  as  you  represent  your  city 
to  be  filled  with  infirm  old  men,  women,  and  children,  I  will 
give  you  twenty-four  hours  in  which  to  remove  them." 

13 


194  A  WAR  DIARY. 

On  Sunday,  the  23d  of  August,  at  a  quarter  past  eleven 
in  the  morning,  I  was  at  Gillinore's  tent.  Great  obliga 
tion  was  then  and  there  expressed  for  Beauregard's  in 
formation  that  thirty-one  degrees  of  elevation  would 
carry  a  shell  from  the  marsh  gun  into  the  city.  "I 
shall  resume  fire,"  said  Gillmore,  "  at  eleven  o'clock  to 
night," —  adding  that  he  was  willing  to  give  them  this 
time  because  the  foreign  consuls  asked  it,  and  the  Spanish 
consul  declared  that  unoffending  persons  had  already  lost 
their  lives.  That  night,  at  half-past  eleven,  while  sitting 
in  my  tent,  I  heard  the  roar  of  the  two-hundred  pounder 
Parrott  hurling  its  shells  into  the  heart  of  the  Eebel  city. 
What  a  wonderful  retaliation!  Frightened  inhabitants 
fleeing  from  the  wrath  of  a  just  avenger,  and  the  double- 
traitor  Beauregard  with  no  better  resources  than  impotent 
denunciations  left  to  him !  Ah,  indeed,  but  this  was  sweet ! 
and  almost  induced  me  to  believe  that  we  might  gain  some 
recompense  for  all  the  suffering  and  sacrifice  and  things 
unaccomplished. 

On  the  24th  of  August,  high  winds  interfered  with  the 
range  of  shots  at  Sumter ;  the  navy  lay  with  difficulty  at 
their  anchorage  ;  two  Whitworth  guns  in  our  naval  battery, 
throwing  formidable  projectiles,  were  useless  from  two  days' 
hard  usage ;  jolly  tars  slept  soundly  under  bomb-proof 
shelters  of  sand-bags  ;  the  two-hundred  pounder  Parrott  gun 
in  the  swamp  had  burst,  after  throwing  five  or  six  shells 
towards  Charleston,  with  eighteen  pounds  of  powder  and 
thirty-one  degrees  of  elevation ;  there  was  sharp  picket 
firing  from  Wagner,  in  which  many  men  from  my  com 
mand  were  killed,  and  strange  stories  were  bruited  about 
of  the  fatal  precision  of  the  fire  of  a  negro  marksman,  a 
Rebel.  A  rumor  was  current  that  Gillmore  had  determined 
to  reply  to  Beauregard's  taunt, — that  after  two  years  of 
effort  he  had  failed  to  capture  the  defences  of  the  city  of 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  195 

Charleston,  —  by  a  quixotic  assault  on  Sumter.  For  this 
purpose  General  Ames,  commanding  one  of  my  brigades, 
had  been  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  expedition,  which 
was  to  consist  of  six  hundred  men,  to  be  selected  by  colo 
nels  of  regiments.  What  Gillmore  called  a  practicable 
breach  was  pointed  out  from  a  distance  to  the  officers  to  be 
engaged,  though  whether  it  was  practicable  or  not  was  sub 
mitted  to  them  for  consideration.  The  expedition,  having 
embarked  in  boats,  was  to  steal  through  the  inlet,  by  the 
side  of  Wagner  and  Gregg,  to  the  assault  on  Sumter.  This 
was  a  movement  which  any  practical  soldier  would  have 
called  unwise,  if  feasible,  and  for  reasons  which  I  deter 
mined  to  set  forth  in  a  letter  to  Gillmore  of  the  following 
tenor,  marked  private  and  unofficial:— 

"  Suppose  you  are  successful,  and  effect  your  lodgement,  how 
long  could  you  remain  in  the  fort?  The  fire  of  concentrated 
Rebel  batteries  would  be  much  harder  for  our  men  than  our  sin 
gle  and  remote  battery  is  for  theirs.  And  if  under  our  fire  but 
few  Rebels  remain  to  skulk  under  bomb-proofs,  what  more  could 
we  do  when  Gregg  and  Wagner,  James  Island  and  Moultrie, 
pour  tornadoes  of  shot  and  shell  into  us  ?  Even  our  iron-clads 
shrink  from  attempting  to  run  into  Charleston  under  the  fire  of 
other  Rebel  batteries  than  Sumter.  What,  then,  can  men  do  who 
hold  a  half-ruined  fort  1  How  will  you  feed  them,  or  supply  them 
with  ammunition?  Of  what  use  will  they  be;  what  can  they 
accomplish  ?  .  .  .  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  protest  against  the 
use  of  troops  from  my  division  for  such  a  purpose ;  and  this,  in 
a  friendly  spirit,  I  have  unofficially  done." 

The  same  opinion  of  the  uselessness  of  these  operations  on 
Morris  Island  was,  I  had  reason  to  believe,  held  by  all  the 
highest  officers,  although  there  was  no  critical  discussion  of 
Gillmore's  operations,  and  no  holding  back  from  a  zealous 
and  hearty  co-operation  in  his  plans.  Our  movements 
pointed  to  the  occupation  of  the  whole  of  Morris  Island ; 
and  for  this  we  were  making  approaches  upon  Wagner,  and 


196  A  WAR  DIARY. 

thence,  I  presumed,  upon  Gregg.  But  when  occupied,  cui 
bono  ?  Should  we  be  any  nearer  Charleston ;  had  we  gained 
any  strategic  point;  were  we  doing  anything  to  aid  in 
bringing  the  war  to  a  close  ?  Was  it  to  assist  the  navy 
that  we  were  to  occupy  the  whole  of  Morris  Island  ?  The 
navy  had  but  little,  if  anything,  to  fear  from  the  forts  on 
that  island  when  Sumter  was  no  longer  to  be  dreaded  ;  and 
even  then  the  navy  would  be  impotent  in  the  presence  of 
James  and  Sullivan's  islands,  and  Fort  Johnson  and  Castle 
Pinckney.  Were  we  slowly  and  at  increased  cost  to  con 
tinue  operations  on  all  the  islands  in  Charleston  Harbor 
until  they  were  won  ?  For  two  years  military  operations 
had  been  conducted  in  the  Department  of  the  South,  and 
as  a  result  we  occupied  one  half  of  Morris  Island !  Where 
should  we  be  in  1865  ? 

Two  days  after  my  letter  to  Gillmore,  I  called  at  his  tent 
and  entered  upon  a  discussion  of  the  subject.  He  began 
by  acknowledging  its  receipt,  and  agreeing  with  its  views. 
He  did  not  contemplate,  he  said,  holding  Fort  Sumter,  only 
taking  it  to  blow  it  up.  He  had  learned  from  deserters 
that  the  Eebels  proposed  to  do  the  same  thing  when  we 
had  rendered  it  perfectly  untenable ;  and  he  had  found  out 
from  the  same  source  that  our  shot  went  completely  through 
the  face  we  fired  at,  and  penetrated  the  opposite  wall. 
He  felt  so  well  satisfied  that  he  had  entirely  demolished 
the  fort  and  dismounted  the  guns,  that  he  had  made  a 
report  to  this  effect  to  the  War  Department.  "  I  claim," 
he  continued,  "  to  have  done  all  my  work,  all  I  agreed  to 
do,  and  all  it  was  agreed,  in  a  mixed  board  of  army  and 
navy  officers  who  met  at  Washington,  that  it  was  necessary 
to  do  to  render  powerless  the  key-point  to  Charleston  Har 
bor.  Admiral  Dahlgren  was  one  of  the  officers  present,  and 
he  has  admitted  that  I  have  destroyed  Fort  Sumter,  that  it 
is  a  heap  of  worthless  ruins.  He  has  admitted  it  to  me 


SEA   ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  197 

and  to  a  reporter.  I  was  sent  down  here,"  Gillmore  went 
on,  "  to  carry  out  the  following  movements  :  (1)  To  capture 
the  southern  end  of  Morris  Island;  (2)  To  reduce  Fort 
Wagner ;  ( 3 )  To  reduce  Fort  Sumter.  The  first  and  third 
are  accomplished ;  the  second  was  but  a  step  to  accomplish 
the  third,  and  one  which  I  thought  indispensable,  —  and  I 
was  as  much  surprised  as  any  one  to  find  that  it  was  not. 
I  maintain  that  the  entire  object  of  my  being  sent  here  has 
been  gained.  I  should  like  to  get  the  whole  of  Morris 
Island;  but  I  don't  see  that  any  particular  object  can  be 
gained  thereby,  now  that  Sumter  is  destroyed.  But  still 
there  is  Wagner,  and  I  am  about  giving  orders  to  advance 
my  approaches  to  that  fort  so  as  to  seize  an  advanced  sand- 
ridge  within  about  one  hundred  and  ninety  yards  of  the 
walls." 

That  Gillmore  stated  the  truth  when  he  said  that  "the 
object  of  my  operations  is  the  destruction  of  Sumter,"  may 
not  be  denied.  Folly  Island  and  Morris  Island  were  of 
but  secondary  importance.  But  what  did  the  Administra 
tion  think  about  the  results  accruing  from  this  demolition  ? 
Did  they  hope  for  the  capture  of  Charleston  ?  That  was 
impossible ;  for  we  had  before  us  other  islands  so  strongly 
guarded  that  Sumter  was  of  little  consideration  in  the 
problem.  Our  naval  operations  had  made  this  a  certainty. 
The  Admiral  knew  it ;  and  it  may  be  presumed  that  the 
Administration,  after  all  the  sad  loss  of  life,  expenditure 
of  treasure,  and  great  disappointment,  had  at  last  begun 
to  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  people  had  not  been  com 
pensated  by  such  an  entertainment.  For,  as  sure  as  truth 
is  truth,  nothing  whatever  had  yet  been  done,  either  by 
Dupont  or  Hunter,  Dahlgren  or  Gillmore,  to  make  the 
capture  of  Charleston  more  possible  than  before  a  naval 
vessel  floated  in  the  waters  of  her  harbor,  or  a  soldier  had 
set  foot  upon  the  shores  of  the  rebellious  State  of  South 
Carolina. 


198  A  WAR  DIARY. 

Notwithstanding,  therefore,  that  I  looked  upon  the  gal 
lant  achievement  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Massachusetts  Eegi- 
ment,  in  rushing  forward  to  capture  an  important  position 
in  front  of  Wagner,  with  admiration;  and  although  this 
affair  gave  an  opportunity  to  publish  in  huge  capitals  in 
the  daily  papers  that  fifty  Kebels  from  North  Carolina 
were  delighted  at  having  been  made  prisoners,  and  to  fill 
pages  of  letter-writers  with  complaints  poured  forth  by 
the  captives  against  the  Eebel  Government,  —  yet  this 
was  all,  and  nothing  more.  Turn  where  we  might  in  this 
department,  a  feeling  of  despair  prevailed  which  not  all  the 
promises  nor  all  the  performances  of  either  army  or  navy 
could  remove.  That  we  were  then  but  two  hundred  yards 
from  Wagner,  and  that  no  amount  of  shelling  could  drive 
our  gallant  fellows  from  the  ridge  they  gained  the  night 
before,  furnished  undoubtedly  a  gleam  of  hope  that  Wag 
ner  ultimately  might  be  ours.  But  what  good  was  even 
the  capture  of  Fort  Wagner  to  do  us  ?  Having  detained 
Gillmore  before  its  walls;  having  inflicted  a  severe  loss 
upon  his  troops ;  and  having  held  them  at  such  a  distance 
from  Sumter  that  our  bombardment  only  battered  it  into 
impregnability,  —  the  Eebel  garrison  at  its  own  conveni 
ence  quietly  moved  out  of  Wagner,  and  gave  us  a  barren, 
victory.  But  I  anticipate  ;  and  yet  as  I  galloped  home  by 
the  camps  on  the  singularly  beautiful  night  in  August  of 
which  I  am  writing,  a  full  moon  bathing  in  its  light  the 
crests  of  the  waves  as  they  rolled  even  to  my  horse's  feet, 
I  could  find  no  answer  to  the  oft-repeated  question : 
What  is  the  use  of  all  this  ? 

Between  Folly  and  Kiowah  islands  the  Stono  Eiver 
empties  into  the  Atlantic.  On  its  banks  the  enemy  had 
established  batteries  to  obstruct  our  movement  towards 
Charleston  through  this  channel.  In  this  river  roamed  a 
ship-of-war,  the  "  Pawnee,"  commanded  by  Captain  Balch, 


SEA   ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  199 

with  whom  in  the  protection  of  these  islands  I  was  to 
co-operate,  should  our  safety  require  it.  About  this,  I  may 
add,  Gillmore  was  much  exercised.  On  the  28th  of  August, 
a  crew  of  land-lubbers  might  have  been  seen  pulling  stoutly 
for  the  "  Pawnee,"  then  in  motion  towards  a  small  cluster 
of  houses  on  the  river's  bank,  rejoicing  in  the  name  of 
Legareville,  whence  the  owners  seemed  to  have  fled.  It 
was  my  purpose  to  accompany  Captain  Balch  on  this  expe 
dition  if  I  could  catch  him.  This  I  succeeded  in  doing, 
because  he  stopped  to  pick  up  a  stray  torpedo  floating  idly 
near  the  shore,  instead  of  performing  the  pleasant  service 
intended  by  its  Eebel  maker.  Captain  Balch  received  me 
with  cheerful  hospitality  (he  could  not  have  done  otherwise 
without  doing  violence  to  his  nature),  and  offered  the  tor 
pedo  for  my  inspection.  Two  tin  canisters,  water-tight, 
were  firmly  connected  by  a  hollow  tube  of  iron  in  the 
direction  of  the  axis  of  the  cylinders  ;  the  lower  one  was 
the  magazine,  and  held  fifty  pounds  of  gunpowder;  the 
upper  served  as  a  float.  Into  this  connecting  tube,  and 
passing  through  the  upper  canister  into  the  lower,  was 
inserted  a  loaded  musket,  —  the  lock  set  as  if  for  firing. 
To  make  the  breech  of  the  gun  less  conspicuous,  one  half 
of  it  had  been  cut  off.  The  two  canisters,  with  connecting 
tube,  loaded  musket,  and  fifty  pounds  of  coarse  powder, 
were  so  weighted  that  the  infernal  invention  floated  with 

O 

the  tide,  barely  showing  any  of  its  parts  above  the  water. 
The  ingenious  arrangement  for  exploding  it  consisted  of  a 
small  disk  of  wood,  the  size  of  a  tea-plate,  which  floated 
on  the  surface  and  inclosed  the  rnusket-barrel  through  a 
small  hole  in  its  centre,  and  almost  -touched  the  trigger  of 
the  lock.  When  sent  out  for  destruction,  two  torpedoes  of 
this  sort,  connected  by  a  long  rope,  are  swept  along  by 
the  current  upon  a  vessel's  bow,  where  the  line  catches  and 
swings  them  against  her  sides.  As  the  rope  tightens,  the 


200  A  WAR  DIARY. 

wooden  disks  press  upon  the  triggers,  and  the  muskets  ex 
plode  into  the  magazine.  Captain  Balch  had  captured  two 
of  these  devices,  and  hung  them  —  harmless  instruments 
then  —  at  his  yard-arm,  in  full  view  of  a  Rebel  work 
swarming  with  men.  In  one  of  them  the  gun  had  been 
discharged ;  but  it  was  so  heavily  loaded  that  it  had  burst 
both  barrel  and  tube,  thus  soaking  the  powder  in  the 
magazine.  In  the  other,  the  powder  in  good  condition 
was  emptied  into  the  captain's  magazine,  in  part  payment 
for  his  launch  which  the  Rebels  had  blown  up  a  day  or 
two  before. 

Service  on  the  Stono,  by  the  "  Pawnee,"  was  not  an  ani 
mated  life  ;  though  the  captain  told  me  of  one  or  two  fights 
with  the  Rebels,  in  which  his  ship  had  been  struck  by  solid 
shot.  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  hit  her,  for  in  turning  in 
narrow  parts  of  the  river  she  made  almost  a  connecting 
bridge  from  bank  to  bank.  I  dined  with  the  captain  in 
these  waters  on  soup,  roast  beef  from  Philadelphia,  float 
ing  island,  and  a  young  watermelon  obtained  from  an  old 
negro  living  on  one  of  the  Sea  Islands  and  taking  care  of 
"  Massa's  "  property.  To  landsmen  a  ship  or  sloop  of  war 
is  a  strange  animal.  The  right  things  are  to  be  found  in 
the  right  places  at  the  right  time,  with  a  wonderful  degree 
of  right-mindedness.  One  has  confidence  that  the  sailor 
will  fight  for  his  pets,  —  those  great  yawning  nine-inch 
Dahlgren  guns.  See  how  the  huge  rammers,  sponges, 
and  shells  are  laid  neatly  and  exactly  where  they  belong. 
Hear  the  boatswain's  pipe  and  see  the  boatswain's  roll  as 
he  walks  the  deck,  filled  with  an  ever-earnest  desire  to  pipe 
his  whistle.  See  the  men  cheerily  "  lending  a  hand,"  with 
outlandish  gibberish,  with  run  and  roll,  with  dress  and  de 
meanor,  with  fun  and  fight,  with  all  in  all  that 's  odd  and 
interesting  and  daring.  The  sailor  has  a  dare-devil,  happy- 
go-lucky  spirit  which  laughs  at  obstacles.  Here  now  is 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  201 

Captain  Balch,  who  would,  I  dare  say,  find  it  not  impos 
sible  to  run  into  Charleston  to-night  or  any  night.  "  How 
say  you,  Captain,  to  this,  were  you  off  Sumter  instead  of 
here  up  the  Stono  ?  " 

"  Well,"  he  replied,  "  if  obstructions  were  removed,  — 
and  I  think  it  is  high  time  they  were,  —  I  see  no  objec 
tions  to  the  iron-clads  running  into  Charleston  harbor  and 
lying  off  the  city." 

"  Then,"  I  exclaimed,  "  you  see  no  objections  from  any 
guns  or  batteries  within  Fort  Sumter,  but  think  the  iron 
clads  can  lie  quietly  in  Charleston  Harbor  and  batter  the 
city  about  the  ears  of  its  people  ?  " 

"  None  whatever,"  replied  the  Captain. 

"  Then  why  not  go  in  now  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Why  not  ? "  echoed  the  Captain,  and  turned  the  con 
versation  abruptly  into  a  dissertation  on  blockade-running 
and  how  to  prevent  it,  from  which  I  fancied  the  gallant 
mariner  was  not  so  sure  about  the  iron-clads  under  Eebel 
guns  in  Charleston  Harbor. 

We  had  another  bout  at  it  two  or  three  days  later,  when 
Captain  Balch,  with  Captain  Whiting,  of  the  gunboat 
"  Ottawa,"  came  ashore  to  dine  with  rne.  Whiting  spoke 
from  some  experience  with  iron-clads,  for  he  carried  his 
gunboat  into  action  the  first  day  the  iron  vessels  opened 
on  Sumter  and  Wagner.  He  was  very  decided  in  his 
opinion,  that  the  task  of  getting  into  Charleston  Har 
bor  was  not  so  easy  as  Captain  Balch  thought  it.  "  Ad 
mitting,"  said  he,  "  that  the  efficiency  of  Fort  Sumter  is 
destroyed,  there  yet  remain  other  and  stronger  obstacles  to 
an  entrance.  Fort  Sumter  is  but  one  key  in  the  compli 
cated  lock." 

"  Did  not  Admiral  Dahlgren  profess  in  Washington  that 
he  would  go  in  if  Sumter  were  destroyed  or  silenced  ? "  I 
asked. 


202  A   WAR   DIARY. 

"  If  he  did,"  replied  Whiting,  "  he  made  a  prophecy 
which  he  will  find  it  difficult  to  fulfil ;  though,"  he  added, 
"  the  navy  are  still  under  orders  to  go  in,  are  only  await 
ing  good  weather,  and  would  have  made  the  attempt  long 
ago,  but  for  the  wind.  Iron-clads  I  do  not  consider  im 
pervious  to  shot,"  he  continued.  "  But  if  they  were,  it 
is  not  alone  with  heavy  guns  that  we  have  to  contend. 
There  are  chains  and  torpedoes  to  arrest  our  ships  and  hold 
them  under  a  heavy  and  formidable  fire." 

If  it  were  manifest  that  our  naval  brethren  considered 
the  absolute  reduction  of  Sumter  a  sine  qua  non  to  an  at 
tempted  entrance  to  the  inner  harbor,  —  and  of  this,  as  will 
be  seen,  there  was  no  doubt,  —  it  was  equally  manifest  that 
at  the  very  hour  while  we  were  at  my  table,  discussing  the 
problem  of  whether  Sumter  was  as  harmless  as  Gillmore 
contended,  its  Eebel  garrison  could  be  plainly  seen  prepar 
ing  sand-bags  for  the  mounting  of  guns  upon  its  walls,  or 
its  ruins  ;  and  on  the  day  following,  the  1st  of  September, 
while  our  three-hundred  pounder  Parrott  was  tearing  away 
large  portions  of  the  walls  and  making  the  place  very 
uncomfortable  for  a  peaceful  resident,  Admiral  Dahlgren 
received  the  fire  of  six  guns  in  position  on  the  northeastern 
face  of  the  fort :  and  of  this  he  informed  Gillmore.  The 
commanding  officer  of  the  trenches  saw  the  evening  gun 
fired  from  Sumter's  walls  that  night  at  sunset ;  saw  Eebels 
at  work,  during  the  day,  piling  sand-bags  upon  the  ruins, 
and  reported  the  same  to  Gillmore.  It  was  not  strange 
that  he  who  had  claimed  to  have  so  silenced  Sumter  that 
the  navy  could  run  their  vessels  by  without  danger,  should 
have  exhibited  some  vexation  at  such  reports.  "How 
could  Sumter  be  an  obstacle  ? "  he  cried.  "  Many  days 
ago  Admiral  Dahlgren  sent  word  to  me  in  a  note,  that 
he  no  longer  considered  Sumter  an  impediment  to  his 
entrance  to  the  inner  harbor.  Then,"  continued  Gillmore, 


SEA   ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  203 

"  the  fort  was  useless  ;  but  now  they  may  have  built  up 
with  sand-bags  its  crumbled  walls  to  hold  their  guns. 
How  can  I  fire  all  the  time,"  he  asked,  "  and  thus  assure 
the  navy  that  the  Eebels  will  not  make  repairs  ? " 

And  thus  replied  the  navy  :  "  You,  Gillmore,  were  to 
silence  Sumter,  and  you  have  not  done  so."  "  Put  that  in 
your  pipe  and  smoke  it,"  the  reader  may  supply.  No 
doubt  Gillmore  did ;  for  he  grumbled,  and  the  three-hun 
dred  pounder  Parrott  grumbled,  and  the  troops  grumbled, 
—  and  there  was  no  progress  made. 

The  true  task  of  the  navy,  the  complete  blockade  of  this 
port,  they  had  accomplished  as  well  as  was  possible.  That 
this  could  not  be  done  absolutely,  will  be  apparent  from 
some  incidents  of  blockade-running  which  were  told  me 
while  dining  on  the  "  Pawnee,"  by  the  commander  of  the 
sloop  "  Onondaga,"  who  had  been  on  the  coast  for  many 
months  on  blockade  service.  While  a  boat  flying  a  flag  of 
truce  came  out  of  Charleston  Harbor  with  the  English 
consul  on  board,  to  protest  against  our  firing  upon  the  city 
until  the  women  and  children  and  British  subjects  had 
been  removed  (particularly  the  latter),  and  while  all  our 
fleet  was  at  anchor  within  the  channel  and  within  two  or 
three  miles  of  Sumter,  a  blockade-runner  from  Charleston 
slipped  down  unperceived  to  Moultrie,  and  laid  herself 
along  the  shore,  awaiting  night  and  a  high  tide  to  run  out. 
The  vessel  (a  steamer)  being  of  a  leaden  color,  and  running 
near  the  land,  could  gain  this  position  without  being  per 
ceived  by  our  blockading  squadron,  unless  it  had  taken  up 
its  picketing  posts  with  the  iron-clads  early  in  the  evening, 
-  which  would  have  been  done,  had  not  the  Eebel  flag-of- 
truce  boat  interfered  with  the  arrangement.  After  night, 
the  crew  of  the  "  Onondaga,"  whose  station  was  in  Maffitt's 
Channel,  which  runs  by  Sullivan's  Island,  heard  the  sound 
of  rapidly-revolving  paddle-wheels  coming  nearer  and 


204  A  WAR   DIARY. 

nearer ;  but,  owing  to  a  slight  haze,  no  object  fifty  yards 
away  could  be  distinguished.  Vainly  did  the  look-out 
peer  into  the  thick  haze  and  darkness.  That  it  was  the 
sound  of  a  blockade-runner  trying  to  escape  from  the  block 
aded  port,  was  manifest.  It  was  just  the  night  for  it.  The 
fugitive  could  not  see  the  blockading  vessel,  nor  could  the 
latter  see  the  fugitive.  Nearer  and  nearer  she  came.  The 
men  stood  silently  by  their  guns,  craning  their  necks  out 
ward  to  get  the  first  shot.  The  orders  of  her  captain 
were  heard  loud  and  clear,  —  "  Hard  a  port ! "  and  the 
reply,  "  Ay,  ay,  sir ! "  then  "  Steady  ! "  The  rapid  whir  of 
the  wheels  continued,  yet  nothing  could  be  seen.  Our 
sailors  thought  they  perceived  a  phosphorescent  glow  in 
her  wake,  as  the  fugitive  made  a  sudden  turn  in  her  course 
through  a  narrow  and  shallow  channel,  —  and  at  this  they 
fired  ;  but  as  the  steamer  was  under  full  headway  the  shot 
was  wild,  anoVshe  escaped  under  cover  of  the  fog. 

It  was  audacious.  Although  but  few  succeeded  in 
eluding  the  navy  at  this  port,  I  found  that  it  was  quite 
impossible  to  prevent  all  vessels  from  running  in  or  out. 
A  fast  steamer  of  light  draught  and  leaden  hue,  running 
in  the  dim  twilight  or  at  night  along  the  shore,  would  fre 
quently  escape  the  keenest  watch.  Besides,  the  squadron 
was  motionless,  while  the  blockade-runner  was  under  full 
headway,  and  therefore  might  frustrate  all  conditions  of 
watchfulness.  It  is  hard  to  hit  a  bird  on  the  wing  with 
a  Dahlgren  gun.  Although  the  officers  and  men  of  oui 
fleet  were  greatly  mortified  at  every  escape  of  a  vessel, 
the  opinion  was  expressed  that  we  much  overestimated 
the  amount  of  war  material  carried  to,  or  the  merchandise 
sent  from,  a  Rebel  port  in  this  way.  One  great  battle,  it 
was  said,  would  consume  more  ammunition  than  could  be 
run  in  before  another,  in  the  order  of  past  events,  would 
occur.  For  an  army  of  seventy  thousand  infantry  it  would 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  205 

take  5,600  boxes  of  ammunition,  each  box  containing  one 
thousand  rounds,  to  furnish  eighty  rounds  to  a  man,  —  and 
eighty  rounds  to  a  man  is  not  a  large  estimate  for  three 
days  of  fighting.  This  allowance  would  weigh  320  tons, 
and  does  not  include  an  estimate  for  artillery.  This  added, 
it  would  require  a  very  long  period  for  the  few  small 
steamers  that  could  make  successful  trips,  to  supply  the 
Rebels  with  ammunition. 

The  foreign  consuls  in  Charleston  incurred  the  dis 
pleasure  of  our  navy  for  other  causes  than  contributing  to 
a  blockade-runner's  escape.  They  had  united  in  a  state 
ment  to  their  different  Governments,  that  the  blockade  of 
Charleston  was  successfully  raised  by  a  raid  of  Eebel  iron 
clads  made  but  a  short  time  before  ;  and  they  added,  as  the 
result  of  their  own  personal  observation,  that  they  steamed 
out  into  the  harbor  by  invitation  of  Beauregard,  and  were 
unable  with  strong  glasses  to  discover  any  one  of  the 
blockading  fleet.  It  was  therefore  asserted  by  the  Eebels 
and  the  foreign  consuls,  that  ships  were  free  to  enter  the 
port  of  Charleston,  until  a  new  establishment  and  a  new 
notice  of  the  blockade.  Commander  Whiting,  in  discussing 
this  matter,  became  very  indignant  with  the  foreign  con 
suls  who  lent  themselves  to  the  manufacture  of  what  he 
termed  wilful  lies.  Our  fleet,  he  said,  never  moved  from 
its  position  outside  the  bar.  The  foreign  consuls,  he 
declared,  not  only  did  not  come  out  with  Beauregard  in  a 
tug,  but  they  did  not  come  out  at  all ;  and  the  only  tug 
that  was  there  was  the  "  tug  of  war."  The  entire  consular 
statement  was  declared  to  be  a  fruitful  lie  of  the  Kebel 
Beauregard.  Even  then,  on  a  French  man-of-war  within 
the  line  of  our  fleet,  a  French  consul  was  known  to  be 
engaged  in  making  notes  of  our  bombardment  for  home 
service,  and  for  conclusions  possibly  touching  a  French 
invasion  of  Mexico. 


206  A  WAR  DIARY. 

Instances  now  more  and  more  frequently  occurred  to 
make  manifest  the  bad  feeling  against  the  navy  which  Gill- 
more — who  possibly  foresaw  a  disastrous  end  to  his  opera 
tions  —  was  sedulously  fostering  among  the  land  forces. 
The  Admiral,  one  night,  made  a  persistent  and  vigorous 
attack  upon  Sumter,  and  Gillmore  pooh-poohed  it  to  every 
one  who  would  listen.  "But  do  you  think  the  navy  accom 
plished  nothing  last  night  ? "  I  asked,  as  I  found  him  on 
the  morning  of  the  2d  of  September  gazing  at  a  large  pile 
of  shells  of  various  sizes,  solid  shot,  Whitworth  bolts,  and 
so  forth,  artistically  piled  up  near  his  tent,  to  give  effect  to 
a  photograph  about  to  be  taken  of  his  headquarters. 

"  Accomplished  !  "  he  replied  contemptuously ;  "  what 
did  they  do  but  bang  away  for  five  or  six  hours  at  the  walls 
of  Sumter,  already  a  mass  of  crumbled  brick  and  mortar, 
utterly  powerless  for  defence  ?  " 

"Then  you  think  it  nothing  that  iron-clads  can  show 
themselves  to  be  invulnerable  in  such  danger  and  under 
such  heavy  pounding  ? "  I  asked. 

"  They  were  too  far  off  to  do  even  the  little  good  they 
might  have  done,"  replied  Gillmore.  "  Their  elevation  was 
not  sufficient  to  knock  down  the  coping,  so  they  battered 
away  at  casemates  filled  with  sand ;  and  this  I  call  crying 
nonsense." 

"  If,  then,"  I  asked,  "  the  troops  holding  Sumter  are  pro 
tected  by  sand-bags  that  resist  the  severest  fire  our  heavy 
guns  can  offer,  and  at  such  short  ranges  as  those  taken  by  our 
iron-clads,  what  good  could  have  been  accomplished  even 
if  the  navy  had  amused  themselves  in  knocking  down  the 
coping  ?  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  you  have  beaten  and  mauled 
the  bricks,  stone,  and  mortar  of  Sumter  into  sand  embank 
ments,  behind  which  the  garrison  repose  in  safety,  and 
laugh  both  at  your  efforts  and  those  of  the  navy  to  drive 
them  out  ?  Is  it  not  true  that  you  have  found  sand  the 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF   CHAKLESTON.  207 

most  difficult  material  to  overcome,  as  well  as  the  safest 
for  resistance  ? " 

"Sand  forts/'  replied  Gillmore,  "are  terrible  things  to 
resist  attacks.  Sand  is  a  good  resisting  material  under  all 
circumstances.  In  fifteen  minutes  a  man  may  so  cover 
himself  in  a  loose  sandy  soil,  that  he  will  be  effectually 
protected  against  every  kind  of  fire  except  mortar  firing. 
We  have  tried  it  in  our  advance  upon  Wagner." 

"  Then  if  you  find  yourself  powerless  against  sand  forts, 
why  do  you  blame  the  navy,  who  do  no  better  than  you 
have  done  ? " 

"  They  promised  to  run  in  by  the  forts,"  exclaimed  Gill- 
more  ;  "  and  this  they  should  have  done,  instead  of  banging 
away  where  no  good  results  could  be  accomplished.  The 
papers  are  stirring  them  up,"  he  added,  with  as  much  show 
of  satisfaction  as  if  he  had  inspired  the  articles. 

For  more  than  seven  hours,  until  nearly  two  hours  of 
daylight  had  melted  the  moonbeams  upon  the  ocean,  until 
a  full  tide  had  softened  the  foaming  waves  that  dashed 
against  the  ebbing  waters,  had  I  heard  the  sullen  and  con 
tinuous  thud  of  the  naval  guns  delivering  their  fire  within 
eight  hundred  yards  of  the  southeast  face  of  Sumter. 
Twice  only  did  this  battered  fort  reply,  when  the  naval  fire 
began ;  afterward  it  took  the  avalanche  in  silence.  And  of 
this  fire  it  was  that  Gillmore  spoke  with  such  contempt,  as 
being  of  little  service  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  great 
result  of  all  efforts,  past,  present,  and  to  be,  —  the  capture 
of  Charleston.  We  began  to  doubt  if  anything  could  be 
effected.  Serious  cases  of  dysentery  began  to  show  them 
selves;  and  bad  water  and  innutritious  food  were  the 
causes,  the  surgeons  said. 

Operations  still  went  on,  however.  We  began  to  erect 
batteries  on  the  Blackwater,  and  I  heard  rumors  that  Eebel 
batteries  were  rising  on  the  Stono,  within  the  region  under 


208  A  WAR  DIARY. 

my  control.  Pickets  were  therefore  advanced,  and  Captain 
Balch  was  requested  to  make  a  reconnoissance  with  his  ship. 
Meanwhile,  with  a  powerful  glass,  I  detected  easily  a  long 
line  of  Eebel  intrenchments  on  James  Island,  —  huge  in- 
trenchments,  with  deep  embrasures,  and  many  troops  at 
work  there.  Behind  the  Blackwater,  and  out  of  reach  from 
any  position  I  could  occupy,  the  Eebel  works  extended ; 
while  on  that  island,  concealed  from  Eebel  view  by  a  high 
and  thick  growth  of  timber,  three  or  four  of  our  thirty- 
pounder  Parrotts  turned  their  ugly  muzzles  toward  Charles 
ton.  So  evening  came,  and  the  sun  sank  in  the  west,  and  in 
its  departing  rays  the  spires  of  the  city  shone  like  polished 
steel.  The  hours  passed, — ten,  eleven,  twelve ;  and  still  the 
cannon's  roar  mingled  with  the  booming  surf  at  my  feet. 

The  next  morning,  the  4th  of  September,  in  response  to 
an  invitation  from  Captain  Balch,  I  went  on  board  the 
"Pawnee."  The  ship  was  cleared  for  action,  the  drum 
beat  to  quarters,  and  up  the  Stono  we  went,  in  the  teeth  of 
reported  batteries.  Our  enemy  had  acted  wisely  in  closing 
a  passage  to  the  rear  of  the  city  of  Charleston  by  fortifica 
tions  on  James  Island  and  on  the  mainland  against  our 
naval  vessels  with  their  armament  of  huge  guns.  But 
scarcely  glancing  at  deserted  Legareville,  we  steamed  on 
by  an  abandoned  Eebel  battery  and  a  deep  patch  of 
timber  to  a  long,  narrow,  open  reach,  with  James  Island 
clear  in  view.  Looking  intently  with  our  glasses,  we  dis 
covered  there  a  formidable  earthwork  of  about  five  hundred 
yards  in  length,  with  many  men  at  work,  but  as  yet  with 
out  an  armament.  The  "  Pawnee  "  was  brought  to  a  stand 
still  at  this  spot,  the  anchor  let  go,  and  an  observation 
taken  in  a  small  boat,  —  which  showed  that  beyond  this 
new  work  there  was  no  other  until  Fort  Pemberton  was 
reached,  six  miles  further  on.  From  our  mast-head  we 
could  plainly  see  this  fort,  its  flag  flying  and  its  parapet 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  209 

covered  with  men.  Sumter  also  was  in  view;  so  was  the 
Eebel  town  of  Secessionville  and  its  fort  near  by,  with  flag 
and  parapet.  This  was  a  new  outlook  upon  our  enemy's 
defences,  and  showed  how  earnest  had  been  his  prepara 
tions  to  protect  his  beloved  city  from  our  attack  in  front  or 
from  the  rear. 

Having  done  all  that  we  intended  to  do,  we  scattered 
the  workmen  at  the  nearest  fort  with  seven  or  eight  shots 
from  the  "  Pawnee's "  one-hundred  pounder  Parrott  gun, 
and  turned  homewards.  Turned  ?  —  no  !  I  was  lost  in 
the  mazes  of  nautical  gymnastics  and  futile  expedients 
to  which  our  captain  resorted.  Either  the  "  Pawnee  "  was 
too  long  for  the  river's  width,  or  the  river  was  too  narrow 
for  the  "Pawnee's"  length.  If  her  head  pointed  down 
wards,  as  it  ought  to  do,  when  her  screw  turned  she  ran 
into  the  bank.  If  steam  was  not  used,  an  ebbing  tide 
took  her  stern  down  stream  faster  than  her  bow.  We 
could  not  return  to  our  anchorage  going  ahead  backwards, 
Again  and  again  we  tried,  —  to  the  right,  to  the  left,  — 
sometimes  with  promised  success ;  but  just  as  we  seemed 
to  be  on  the  point  of  making  the  turn,  back  the  tide  would 
sweep  us  again,  to  drift  downward,  stern  foremost,  when 
our  own  head- way  had  been  overcome.  In  these  abortive 
efforts  we  were  fortunately  not  fired  on  from  concealed 
batteries.  Here  was  a  large  war  vessel  cutting  up  these 
antics  within  range  of  a  large  Eebel  fort  on  the  shore  of 
a  narrow  river ;  and  yet  we  were  allowed  to  pirouette  un 
molested.  There  must  have  been  some  reason  for  it  other 
than  sympathy  with  our  situation.  An  anchor  out  astern 
would  have  overcome  our  difficulty,  but  Captain  Balch 
had  no  stern  anchor;  so  he  made  one  of  his  tender,  the 
"  Huron,"  a  smaller  vessel  by  his  side,  to  which  he  sent  a 
hawser,  and  thus  restrained  the  unmanageable  stern  of  the 
"  Pawnee "  until  her  nose  was  fairly  down  stream,  when 

U 


210  A   WAR  DIARY. 

she  became   again  responsive   to   steam,  and  carried   us 
without  other  incidents  to  our  anchorage. 

The  next  move  in  Gillmore's  plans  was  an  attempt,  on 
the  night  of  the  4th  of  September,  to  capture  Fort  Gregg 
by  surprise  and  spike  its  guns.  The  effort  failed;  our 
troops  were  discomfited.  The  land  forces  were  to  have 
been  supported  by  boats  from  the  navy,  armed  with  howit 
zers.  After  dark  the  troops  were  at  the  designated  point ; 
and  so  were  the  sailors,  all  but  one  boat's  crew  carrying  an 
ambitious  officer,  who,  in  pulling  seaward  further  than  he 
ought,  between  Cumming's  Point  and  Sumter,  encountered 
a  boat  from  Gregg  containing  a  wounded  major  of  the 
Eebel  army  with  his  surgeon.  Instant  pursuit  was  made 
by  our  bluejackets,  some  of  whom  fired  with  muskets. 
The  Eebel  boat  halted  and  was  captured,  but  at  the 
expense  of  the  expedition ;  for  the  firing  had  aroused  the 
garrison,  and  a  surprise  was  impossible.  To  make  up  for 
this  disappointment,  it  was  determined  to  try  again  the 
next  night ;  while  in  the  mean  time  by  daylight  the  army 
and  navy  would  make  a  combined  attack  on  Wagner. 
Accordingly,  on  the  5th  of  September,  the  iron-clad  "  New 
Ironsides  "  anchored  within  less  than  eight  hundred  yards 
of  the  fort,  and  threw  its  huge  shells  into  it  at  every  dis 
charge.  A  flag  at  the  nearest  point  of  our  approach  to 
Wagner,  some  sixty  yards,  warned  the  navy  of  the  location 
of  the  land  forces.  With  two  officers  of  my  staff  I  went  to 
the  second  parallel,  over  which  in  an  angry  and  threaten 
ing  manner  shells  were  bursting  from  Eebel  guns.  John 
son,  Wagner,  Gregg,  and  others  were  lively,  but  not  so 
dangerous  as  the  noise  they  made  would  have  indicated, 
for  the  moment  a  flash  was  seen  from  a  Eebel  gun  our 
watchful  sentinel  cried  out,  "  Johnson  ! "  "  Gregg ! "  and  so 
forth,  upon  which  both  officers  and  men  hugged  the  para 
pet,  while  the  ugly  and  scraggy  fragments  of  iron  howled 


V 


«J4 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  211 

harmlessly  by.  After  looking  long,  and  dodging  at  every 
warning,  I  retraced  my  steps  for  one  third  of  a  mile, 
mounted  my  horse,  and  returned  to  camp,  where  the  next 
morning  I  heard  of  last  night's  second  failure  to  capture 
Gregg.  Thus  it  came  to  pass :  Details  of  infantry  from 
Gillmore's  command  arrived  in  time  at  the  boats,  but  were 
there  delayed ;  there  was  confusion  in  telling  off  the  men, 
and  there  was  a  lack  of  rowers.  Time  was  wasted  by 
these  mishaps.  The  moon  lighted  up  the  sandy  bulwarks 
of  Gregg,  and  enabled  a  few  of  her  watchful  sentinels, 
mindful  of  last  night's  effort,  to  discover  and  fire  at .  our 
approaching  boats.  The  Federals  were  alarmed ;  some  of 
their  boats  turned  and  pulled  back  to  shore ;  Gregg  opened 
with  canister  upon  those  that  remained,  and  then  they 
also  turned  in  flight,  disembarking  with  men  disheartened, 
wounded,  and  killed.  Upon  a  stupid  enemy  only  should  a 
commander  attempt  a  second  surprise  on  a  night  follow 
ing  an  abortive  effort,  —  and  that  ours  was  not  one  to  be 
caught  napping,  we  had  abundant  proof  during  the  war. 

While  it  was  evident  enough  that  Sumter  was  a  bad- 
looking  pile  of  ruins,  and  therefore,  judging  from  appear 
ances,  no  bar  to  an  attempt  to  sail  into  Charleston  Harbor, 
it  began  to  be  apparent  that  the  navy  had  found  other  in 
surmountable  obstacles,  both  on  the  earth  and  in  the  waters 
under  the  earth  ;  and  although  this  would  be  no  excuse  for 
not  making  the  effort,  the  grand  question,  —  one  which  I 
had  bsen  asking  myself  since  I  had  been  there, —  had  at  last 
been  propounded  from  Washington  ;  namely,  What  do  we 
want  of  Charleston  ?  This  had  weighed  upon  the  Admiral, 
and  upon  every  other  naval  commander  in  these  waters, 
and  had  made  them  unwilling  to  contribute  to  a  useless 
sacrifice,  as  also  somewhat  cooled  the  otherwise  enthusias 
tic  ardor  with  which  they  would  have  entered  into  Gill 
more's  plans.  That  the  mere  capture  of  the  city  would 


212  A  WAR  DIARY. 

have  been  useless,  was  stated  in  a  letter  from  Cullum,  chief 
of  Halleck's  staff.  Of  course  this  was  Halleck's  view.  "  We 
care  nothing  about  Charleston,"  said  the  letter ;  "  we  want 
to  shut  up  the  harbor.  Charleston  would  be  something  of 
an  elephant  to  us,  after  all."  And  what  a  discovery  this  was 
to-day,  after  all  the  waste  and  woe  of  these  useless  opera 
tions  !  We.  could  have  as  effectually  closed  the  harbor  of 
Charleston  with  our  blockading  fleet  alone,  as  with  the 
presence  and  loss  of  so  much  land  force. 

But  there  we  were,  with  one-half  of  Morris  Island  in  our 
possession,  and  our  advanced  parallels  within  sixty  yards 
of  Wagner.  For  our  own  prestige,  at  least,  we  should  be 
compelled  to  take  possession  of  Morris  Island.  Something 
had  to  be  shown  the  American  people  for  the  loss  of  life 
in  trenches  and  from  torpedoes  buried  in  the  earth.  "  A 
log  troubles  me  in  digging,"  said  a  soldier  one  day  in  the 
trenches  to  his  officer.  "  Well,  then,  dig  around  it,"  was 
the  reply ;  "  don't  bother  about  it."  A  minute  more,  and 
an  explosion  blew  the  soldier  to  atoms.  Our  men,  as  they 
advanced,  found  the  ground  filled  with  torpedoes,  for  we 
were  very  near  the  foot  of  Wagner's  parapet,  —  so  near,  in 
deed,  that  that  lively  fort  gently  tossed  iron  shells  into  our 
trenches,  which,  bursting  with  sad  effect,  killed  some  ten  or 
twelve  men  every  day.  Our  second  day's  bombardment 
of  Wagner,  I  was  informed,  was  the  prelude  to  a  lonafide 
attempt  to  take  it  by  storm  the  next  morning,  between  the 
hours  of  eight  and  ten.  Our  approaches  had  carried  us 
so  near  that  our  assaulting  columns  could  be  massed  under 
cover  of  our  own  works. 

The  time  selected  was  the  hour  of  lowest  tide,  for  this 
allowed  the  use  of  the  beach  in  an  approach,  and  thus 
enabled  the  men  to  avoid  a  liberal  sprinkling  of  torpedoes 
in  front  of  the  works.  General  Stevenson,  with  his  brigade 
and  a  small  additional  force,  was  to  command  the  storming 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  213 

column.  The  iron-clads  and  the  "  Ironsides,"  within  easy 
range,  were  to  keep  down  the  fire  of  Wagner :  indeed,  they 
would  have  been  able  to  keep  its  garrison,  if  it  had  any, 
from  making  any  resistance  whatever.  Launches  with 
howitzers,  we  judged,  could  approach  the  coast  and  cer 
tainly  keep  up  a  rear  as  well  as  an  enfilading  fire  upon 
the  place ;  and  what  under  such  circumstances  could  the 
enemy  do  ?  On  the  supposition  that  this  fire  should  be 
maintained  until  a  strong  body  of  at  least  six  hundred 
men,  formed  in  three  columns  of  two  hundred  each,  could 
rush  into  the  work,  and  that  they  should  be  supported  by 
reserves  containing  at  least  five  hundred  each,  in  columns 
of  company  front,  —  it  was  thought  that  the  work  could 
be  carried  without  serious  loss.  Eleven  hundred  of  my 
men  I  had  sent  to  Morris  Island,  and  five  hundred  to  the 
northern  end  of  Folly ;  and  thus  it  seemed  to  me  that  the 
llebels  must  be  satisfied,  for  they  had  been  grumbling  a 
great  deal  at  our  mode  of  operations.  A  Charleston  news 
paper  belabored  our  army  because  we  did  not,  as  it  ex 
pressed  it,  "clean  up  as  we  went."  It  thought  it  very 
unfair  for  us  to  bombard  Charleston  without  at  first  taking 
all  the  approaches, — that  is,  all  the  forts  defending  the  city. 
The  editor  was  so  angry  that  we  ignored  the  works  which 
Rebels  thought  secure  against  our  shells,  that  he  had  the 
farcical  impertinence  to  call  on  Beauregard  to  compel  us 
to  take  the  works  as  we  went  along,  and  not  skip  any  ! 

Shall  I  record  it  ?  —  all  this  elaborate  preparation  ended 
in  a  farce  !  The  whole  of  Morris  Island  became  ours,  — 
Wagner,  Gregg,  and  all,  —  abandoned  the  night  of  the  6th 
of  September,  without  awaiting  our  assault,  without  strik 
ing  a  blow !  The  moment  the  report  reached  me  I  made 
my  way,  under  heavy  firing  from  Johnson's,  Sullivan's,  and 
James  islands,  along  the  beach  to  Wagner,  where,  secur 
ing  my  horse,  I  effected  an  entrance,  regardless  of  torpe- 


214  A  WAR   DIARY. 

does  or  bursting  shells,  into  the  fort.  It  was  of  immense 
strength.  As  I  wandered  from  one  face  to  another  I  failed 
to  perceive  that  our  bombardment  had  done  more  than 
deprive  it  of  part  of  its  beauty,  —  certainly,  of  none  of  its 
strength.  I  had  no  time  to  take  measurements,  which 
would  have  been  dangerous  business  then,  but  I  made  up 
my  mind  that  the  fort  was  strong  enough  to  resist  all  the 
fire  that  rifled  and  fifteen-inch  guns  could  have  brought 
against  it.  The  open  and  capacious  covered  ways  leading 
from  gun  to  gun  afforded  a  sufficient  circulation  of  air,  and 
made  stories  current  among  our  men,  of  Eebels  fainting  in 
closed  bomb-proofs,  supremely  ridiculous.  The  number 
of  guns  within  the  fort,  the  precise  measurements  of  the 
parapet,  the  dimensions  of  the  bomb-proofs,  the  exact  form 
of  the  work,  and  the  length  of  its  faces,  I  had  no  time  to 
investigate.  But  what  had  interested  us  much,  —  namely  ^ 
how  any  garrison  could  survive  the  huge  shells  and  shot 
which  our  enormous  calibres  had  poured  into  the  fort,  — 
was  satisfactorily  explained  by  the  perfect  bomb-proofs, 
which  so  protected  the  gunners  that  they  could  serve  their 
guns  in  the  very  face  of  our  fire  with  almost  perfect  impu 
nity  ;  even  an  enfilading  fire  from  our  navy  was  impotent 
for  harm.  Still  there  were  many  marks  of  rough  usage 
about  the  fort.  Some  guns  had  been  rendered  useless,  — 
one  knocked  out  of  its  carriage,  and  the  carriage  broken, 
while  another  showed  a  huge  indentation  near  the  muzzle 
where  a  solid  shot  had  struck.  Many  uninjured  guns 
(sixteen  of  them)  had  been  spiked.  More  than  the  usual 
debris  of  camp,  garrison  equipage,  and  subsistence  was 
scattered  around  ;  hundreds  of  barrels  of  hard  bread,  excel 
lent  and  fresh  in  appearance,  had  been  emptied  and  tram 
pled  under  foot,  while  hundreds  of  others,  filled  and  half 
filled,  were  piled  up  for  service  as  a  protecting  traverse ; 
ordnance  stores  littered  the  earth  :  fragments  of  shells,  and 


SEA  ISLANDS  .OFF   CHARLESTON.  215 

whole  ones  unexploded ;  solid  shot,  shattered  lumber,  and 
broken  gun-carriages  strewed  the  ground :  there  were  also 
dead  men  lying  too  long  unburied.  On  its  northern  side 
Wagner  was  open  ;  its  gorge  faced  the  work  we  had  known 
as  Gregg,  on  the  extreme  northern  end  of  the  island.  This 
work,  too,  had  been  evacuated;  otherwise  it  would  have 
been  uncomfortable,  if  not  impossible,  to  occupy  Wagner, 
for  the  latter  would  have  received,  without  let  or  hindrance, 
all  the  unobstructed  fire  the  former  chose  to  pour  into  it. 

Why  these  forts  were  evacuated,  was  a  question  upon 
which  there  might  be  great  differences  of  opinion.  It  could 
be  said  of  Wagner,  that,  by  our  last  trench,  we  had  exten 
ded  our  works  almost  to  the  line  of  the  surf,  gaining  a 
point  further  north  than  the  southeastern  angle  of  the  fort, 
and  almost  under  its  very  wall ;  and  that  therefore  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  hold  the  fort  against  our  assault. 
Others,  however,  would  argue  that  we  gained  nothing  by 
such  surrender,  for  a  fire  from  adjacent  islands,  almost  if 
not  quite  as  effective,  could  be  poured  into  us  on  Mor 
ris  Island ;  and  that  the  possession  of  the  whole  of  this 
island  did  not  in  the  least  advance  our  efforts  to  acquire 
an  inch  of  land  or  water  beyond  the  island  itself.  How 
ever  this  may  be,  we  should  have  found  it  deadly  work  if, 
with  all  Gillmore's  engineering  science  in  our  behalf,  we 
had  attempted  to  assault  Wagner.  Buried  in  the  scarp 
wall  of  the  ditch,  breast  high,  were  pointed  lances  like 
boarding  pikes,  and  doubtless  used  as  such  at  a  former 
period,  to  receive  the  assailant  in  an  attempt  to  scale  the 
wall ;  while  on  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  long  nails,  as  sharp 
as  needles,  driven  through  boards  to  hold  them  firmly  in 
their  places,  were  placed  to  impale  the  intruders.  The 
defence  of  this  fort  had  been  brave  and  determined ;  its 
garrison  had  been  exposed  to  a  terrible  and  long-continued 
fire.  The  courage  of  its  defenders,  however,  bore  no  com- 


216  A  WAR  MARY. 

parison  to  the  energy  and  bravery  of  our  own  troops,  in 
pushing  forward  their  siege- works  under  the  fire  delivered 
by  the  besieged.  Never  free  from  exposure  to  bursting 
shells;  unceasingly  at  work,  by  day  and  by  night,  on 
hands  and  knees,  crouching  for  shelter  behind  the  insig 
nificant  protection  of  a  sap-roller,  —  our  fearless  troops 
constructed  their  approaches  and  their  parallels. 

But  now  Wagner  was  ours  without  a  fight;  and  we 
thanked  God  for  it.  Officers  and  men  jostled  one  another 
on  the  Eebel  parapet,  or  wandered  through  the  bomb-proofs 
and  the  ditches,  gazing  with  curious  looks  at  each  new 
revelation  of  haste  or  destruction,  and  unmindful,  despite 
many  warnings,  of  concealed  torpedoes  or  the  whirring  of 
shells,  with  which  the  Eebels  peppered  us  with  an  increas 
ing  venom. 

Mounting  my  horse,  I  returned  to  the  observatory.  A 
solid  shot,  fired  from  Johnson's  Island,  struck  within  a  few 
feet  of  my  path ;  a  fragment  of  shell  howling  over  the  line 
of  my  right  shoulder  in  uncomfortable  proximity  buried 
itself  in  the  ocean ;  while  another,  bursting  over  my  head, 
spread  its  fragments  around  like  an  enveloping  cloud,  from 
which  came  those  peculiar  death  notes  caused  by  the  whir 
of  jagged  iron.  Gillmore  was  jubilant.  In  the  fall  of 
Wagner  and  of  Gregg  he  saw  the  surrender  of  every  work 
that  impeded  his  triumphal  entry  into  the  coveted  city; 
his  heart  beat  high  with  hope  ;  he  exulted  in  his  own 
prowess.  The  navy  was  also  affected.  The  Admiral  de 
cided  to  attack  something  or  somebody  that  afternoon  with 
his  monitors,  and  test  upon  other  forts  and  other  islands 
the  full  significance  of  triumphs  already  won.  From  the 
deck  of  my  steamer  I  had  a  fair  view  of  an  engagement 
between  the  iron-clads  and  Moultrie  and  other  works  on 
Sullivan's  Island.  I  was  within  range  of  Johnson's  Island, 
and  my  vision  was  uninterrupted.  The  scene  was  inde- 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  217 

scribably  brilliant.  The  iron-clads  were  enveloped  in  smoke ; 
the  water  boiled  around  them,  from  the  multitude  of  shot 
fired  from  Eebel  guns.  Sullivan's  Island  seemed  a  living 
mass  of  batteries.  Tier  after  tier  of  guns  opened  on  our 
adventurous  fleet.  The  fire  was  received  with  a  dignified 
composure,  which  was  only  broken  at  intervals  when  our 
guns  vomited  forth  defiance  at  the  impotent  rage  of  the 
Eebel  foe.  I  watched  the  scene  until  midnight.  Long 
after  I  had  returned  to  my  camp  I  heard  the  roar  of  the 
prolonged  contest,  which,  alas !  did  not  affect  the  yet  un 
solved  problem  of  how  to  accomplish  the  capture  or  the  de 
struction  of  Charleston.  So  ended  the  siege  of  Wagner. 

Almost  every  one  has  heard  of  the  gallant  conduct  of  the 
negro  pilot,  Eobert  Small,  in  running  the  Eebel  steamer 
"  Planter  "  out  of  the  harbor  of  Charleston,  and  delivering 
her,  with  all  her  equipment,  as  a  prize  to  our  navy,  then 
blockading  the  port.  Small  was  employed  by  our  Govern 
ment  as  a  pilot,  at  seventy-five  dollars  per  month ;  and  it 
was  while  serving  as  such  on  my  boat  that  he  told,  in  a 
modest  way,  the  details  of  that  escape.  No  one  could  have 
managed  with  more  consummate  skill.  On  the  night  of 
his  flight,  his  party  of  nine  colored  men  and  five  women 
and  children  stole  noiselessly  on  board.  There  were  white 
men  among  the  crew,  but,  as  was  their  custom,  they  were 
asleep  on  shore.  If  the  fugitive  with  his  companions  were 
to  escape,  he  must  steam  out  before  these  men  returned, 
before  the  watchful  sentinels  in  Sumter  or  on  Sullivan's 
or  Johnson's  Island  could  distinguish  the  face  or  figure  of 
this  flying  slave.  It  was  the  habit  of  General  Eipley,  the 
Eebel  commander  of  Charleston,  to  make  a  reconnoissance 
of  the  waters  at  an  early  hour  in  the  "  Planter,"  sometimes 
at  daybreak ;  and  when  he  did,  the  pilot  gave  the  usual 
signal  to  Sumter  of  two  long  whistles  and  one  short  one. 
That  this  trip,  so  pregnant  with  fate  to  the  poor  slaves, 


218  A  WAR  DIARY. 

might  seem  to  be  in  the  interest  of  the  Eebel  masters,  it 
was  imperative  that  none  of  the  usual  forms  of  courtesy 
should  be  neglected.  Small  was  familiar  with  them  all, 
having  watched  the  performance  of  them  by  others.  Before 
daylight  he  put  them  into  practice.  Sumter  came  in  view  : 
where  Eipley  was  wont  to  stand  on  the  vessel,  with  cloak 
and  cap,  to  salute  the  officer  of  the  guard  as  the  signals 
were  given,  stood  Small,  the  negro  captain  of  the  "  Planter," 
in  form  and  gesture  so  like  Eipley  that  deception  was  not 
dreamed  of  by  the  Eebels.  Sumter  passed,  a  new  danger 
presented  itself.  Our  fleet,  —  would  the  officers  there  rec 
ognize  the  purposes  of  this  Eebel  boat ;  or,  thinking  it  on 
foul  things  intent,  demolish  it  with  their  heavy  guns  ?  Out 
of  range  of  Suniter's  guns,  our  brave  negro  captain  pulled 
down  the  Eebel  flag  and  raised  a  white  one  in  its  place.  In 
the  indistinct  light  the  watchful  eyes  of  our  sailors  per 
ceived  the  boat,  and  took  it  for  a  ram.  The  alarm  was 
given,  and  some  ships  got  under  way ;  but  soon  the  truth 
was  known.  Captain  Eobert  Small  and  his  company  of 
fourteen  trembling  negroes,  —  the  slave  pilot  and  the  slave 
crew,  —  stepped  upon  the  deck  of  a  gunship,  and  under  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  made  over  a  free  gift  of  one  valuable 
steamer,  with  all  her  outfit  and  equipments,  to  the  United 
States,  receiving  in  return  the  priceless  gift  of  freedom. 

"We  may  well  pause  here  to  ask  if,  so  short  a  time  ago, 
such  things  could  be  ?  Men,  women,  and  children  fleeing 
from  the  barbarous  degradation  of  slavery :  from  a  condition 
so  dwarfing  to  both  mind  and  body  that  we  can  only  won 
der  that  there  was  manhood  enough  left  in  Eobert  Small 
to  enable  him  to  design  and  execute  so  hazardous  a  flight ! 
Yet  so  modestly,  so  quietly,  did  Small  relate  to  me  the 
main  facts  of  his  heroic  achievement,  that  I  felt  myself  to 
be  in  the  presence  of  a  man.  God  knows  that  I  am  thank 
ful  enough  now,  as  I  was  glad  enough  then,  that  my  steps 


SEA   ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  219 

had  been  directed  towards  those  who  had  it  in  their  power 
to  give  freedom  to  Eobert  Small,  rather  than  to  those  who 
were  devoting  their  homes  to  the  red  flame  of  war  that 
they  might  hold  him  and  his  race  forever  in  slavery. 

Like  this  brave  soul,  there  were  many  colored  men  fighting 
for  freedom  within  our  ranks  on  the  shores  of  South  Caro 
lina  ;  many  buried  under  the  parapet  of  Wagner,  waiting  for 
that  trump  which  shall  summon  free  and  slave  to  the  same 
immortality.  It  was  no  wonder  that  sympathy  for  such 
men  moved  many  refined  and  well-educated  young  men  to 
seek  commands  where  they  could  lead  to  liberty  the  slave 
soldiers  whom  we  organized  into  regiments  during  the 
Kebellion.  This  was  done,  too,  with  the  knowledge  that 
it  involved  a  greater  hazard  than  was  incurred  in  the 
command  of  white  troops.  To  deter  our  officers  from 
enlisting  negroes,  the  Southern  authorities  declared  that 
white  men  commanding  colored  troops  should  not  be 
included  in  the  cartel  of  exchanges.  Upon  this  subject 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  importuned  by  the  father  of  a  captain  of 
negro  troops,  then  a  prisoner  at  Eichmond.  The  President 
replied  "  that  the  cartel  of  exchanges  could  not  be  altered 
on  account  of  such  action  by  the  Eebels ;  it  would  not  be 
just  to  other  officers.  Commanders  of  black  troops,"  he 
said,  "  take  upon  themselves  extra  risk,  and  must  bear  it ; 
but  any  cruelty  or  death  to  such  officers  will  be  visited 
with  retaliation."  Yet  even  this  did  not  deter  our  young 
men  from  accepting  such  positions,  or  from  becoming 
enthusiastic  about  their  negro  troops.  Making  all  due 
allowance  for  the  natural  enthusiasm  and  zeal  of  avowed 
Abolitionists,  when  engaged  as  the  officers  of  colored  regi 
ments  within  my  command,  I  could  not  doubt  or  deny  their 
representation  of  the  intelligence  displayed  by  the  colored 
non-commissioned  officers  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties. 
They  assisted  the  commissioned  officers  as  clerks;  were 


220  A  WAK  DIARY. 

apt  in  drills,  and  ready  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge 
concerning  subjects  before  unknown.  They  were  animated 
with  a  desire  to  show  that  they  were  worthy  of  freedom, 
and  to  fight  for  a  recognition  of  their  equality  with  other 
races  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  That  the  colored  troops 
would  succeed  in  proving  their  efficiency  before  the  war 
closed  their  officers  did  not  doubt. 

In  Wagner  we  continued  to  turn  up  buried  torpedoes. 
Killing  by  mines  "and  torpedoes,  not  for  defence,  but  for 
butchery,  is  scarcely  civilized  warfare.  We  discovered 
ingenious  arrangements  by  which  torpedoes  might  be  dis 
charged  by  our  unsuspecting  troops.  A  line  attached  to  a 
pocket-knife  would  meet  the  eye  of  a  soldier,  who  naturally 
enough  would  stoop  to  pick  it  up,  and  thus  explode  an  in 
strument  of  death.  Torpedoes  were  as  abundant  as  blue 
berries  ;  they  floated  ashore  from  the  ocean,  were  discharged 
in  the  current  of  the  rivers  and  inlets,  dug  up  in  the  sand, 
or  found,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  parapets  of  Wagner  and 
Gregg.  A  black  object  was  one  day  cast  up  on  the  beach 
of  Folly  Island.  It  was  cylindrical  in  shape,  painted 
black,  and  about  the  size  of  a  barrel.  It  was  at  once 
surrounded  by  soldiers,  who  touched  it  rather  tenderly,  as 
one  of  them  said,  because  "1  did  not  know,  sir,  what  the 
damned  thing  would  do  next;"  and  then  they  awaited 
the  return  of  a  comrade  with  a  saw,  with  which,  they 
thought,  they  could  best  get  at  its  contents.  Of  course 
there  was  an  explosion  and  casualties,  with  "no  one  to 
blame." 

That  the  withdrawal  of  the  enemy  from  the  whole  of 
Morris  Island  was  an  indication  that  he  would  also  retreat 
from  Sumter  if  hard  pressed,  seemed  to  be  decided  by  both 
Gillmore  and  Dahlgren  ;  and,  singularly  enough,  each  felt 
so  sure  of  this  that  he  determined  to  make  an  effort  to 
steal  from  the  other  the  coveted  honor  of  being  the  first  to 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  221 

win  the  fort.  Accordingly,  on  the  night  of  the  8th  of  Sep 
tember,  without  concert,  expeditions  from  the  army  and 
navy,  under  separate  commanders  and  with  separate  if  not 
conflicting  instructions,  sallied  forth  to  do  the  deed  which 
should  electrify  the  North.  The  courtesy  of  acquainting 
Gillmore  with  his  intentions  was  not  omitted  by  Admiral 
Dahlgren,  who  by  a  messenger  informed  the  General  that 
he  should  send  an  expedition  to  capture  Sumter.  But 
Gillmore  kept  his  plans  to  himself;  and  though  he  declared 
that  he  could  not  communicate  in  time  with  the  Admiral, 
he  was  discreet  enougli  to  guard  against  the  misfortunes 
that  might  readily  happen  to  two  independent  commands 
in  attacking  at  night,  from  different  directions,  the  same 
object.  He  sent  to  the  Admiral  a  watchword,  as  also  a 
suggestion  that  whoever  reached  Sumter's  parapet  first, 
should  burn  a  red  light.  With  this  exception,  nothing  was 
agreed  upon  by  the  two  commanders. 

The  naval  boats,  loaded  with  tars  armed  with  cutlasses 
and  muskets,  put  off  silently  and  in  darkness  from  the 
various  vessels  of  the  blockading  fleet,  and  were  gathered 
in  a  single  body  as  near  as  practicable  to  the  fort,  that  they 
might  pull  vigorously  on  at  the  appointed  time,  and  begin 
their  work.  The  army,  with  infantry  in  two  long  lines, 
marched  at  night  to  the  creek,  and  there  quietly  seated 
themselves  in  barges,  ready  with  oarsmen  to  pull  to  the 
attack  of  the  gorge  of  Sumter.  The  naval  force,  it  appeared, 
was  instructed  to  attack  three  faces  of  the  work,  —  the 
northern,  southeastern,  and  southern,  or  gorge.  As  the 
boats  approached  the  northeastern  face,  they  were  discov 
ered  and  fired  upon  by  musketry  from  the  fort ;  while  at 
the  same  time  two  Rebel  steamers,  opportunely  in  waiting, 
backed  off  and  opened  upon  the  boats  with  grape,  and  from 
the  parapet  of  the  fort  hand-grenades  were  thrown  upon 
our  sailors.  This  concerted  fire  soon  threw  the  boats  into 


222  A  WAR  DIARY. 

confusion ;  those  that  were  not  destroyed  were  dispersed, 
and  made  their  way  back  to  the  fleet.  The  boats  that 
landed  at  the  southern  face,  where  the  gorge  wall  had  been 
beaten  down,  were  a  little  more  fortunate.  Several  offi 
cers  gained  the  crest  of  the  work,  but  only  to  be  taken 
prisoners  by  an  overpowering  force  of  Eebels,  who  were 
always  at  night-fall  thrown  into  the  fort  and  safely  housed 
within  its  bomb  and  shot-proof  shelters,  waiting  for  pre 
cisely  such  a  catch  as  this.  During  the  whole  of  this  dis 
astrous  effort  a  fierce  fire  from  Eebel  batteries  on  James 
Island  and  on  Sullivan's  swept  the  faces  and  flanks  of  Sum- 
ter.  To  fly,  therefore,  was  more  hazardous  than  to  remain ; 
and  to  remain  was  sure  to  result  in  captivity  or  death. 
In  the  midst  of  this  commotion  the  army  boats  came  up 
and  halted.  It  was  soon  perceived  that  the  naval  attack 
had  failed.  Every  Eebel  fort  in  the  harbor  was  aroused ; 
to  have  proceeded  further  would  have  been  folly ;  there 
fore  the  troops  returned,  without  loss,  to  their  creeks. 

In  killed,  wounded,  and  captured,  the  navy  lost  one 
hundred  and  twenty  men  and  two  officers,  out  of  a  total  of 
four  hundred.  The  survivors  brought  back  more  reliable 
information  of  Sumter  than  Gillmore  had  ever  received. 
Captain  Buchanan  of  the  marines  reached  the  southern 
face,  —  the  one  that  had  borne  all  of  Gillmore's  pounding 
from  Morris  Island,  —  to  find  a  vertical  wall  of  fifteen  feet 
in  height  from  the  top  of  the  debris  at  the  foot,  which 
neither  officer  nor  man  could  scale.  It  was  here,  at  the 
foot  of  this  debris,  that  all  the  Federal  sailors  were  made 
prisoners.  Our  iron-clads  were  of  but  little  service.  Two 
of  them  accompanied  our  boats,  but  their  draught  was  such 
that  their  guns  could  not  be  brought  to  bear  to  flank  the 
southern  or  gorge  wall ;  while  the  Eebel  gunboats,  lying  in 
shallower  water,  used  their  fairer  opportunity  with  great 
effect  upon  our  men  and  boats.  The  southern  face  was 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHAKLESTOX.  223 

never  stronger ;  it  was  simply  invincible.  The  outside 
had  been  made  impregnable  by  the  debris  from  Gillmore's 
bombardment,  while  sand  and  cotton-bags  within  strength 
ened  all  the  inner  part.  The  result  did  not  dissipate  the 
growing  feeling  of  ill-humor  that  had  been  for  some  time 
manifest  between  the  land  and  naval  forces.  With  no 
single  head  to  devise  and  execute  operations  looking  to  the 
same  end,  there  must  needs  be  clashing  and  inefficiency 
and  bad  blood.  In  the  mean  time  Sumter  grew  daily  in 
strength.  In  front  of  its  battered  walls,  at  the  angle  of  its 
gorge  and  southeastern  flank,  an  immense  pile  of  sand,  a 
little  lower  than  the  old  embrasures,  had  been  deposited, 
where  new  guns  and  new  embrasures  and  the  beginning 
of  a  magazine  of  sand-bags  appeared.  All  this  I  saw  on 
the  morning  of  the  10th  of  September  from  our  second 
parallel;  and  it  did  not  fill  me  with  the  conviction  that 
Sumter  had  been  rendered  useless  or  defenceless.  Mean 
while  it  became  more  likely  that  our  stay  in  this  region 
would  be  much  prolonged,  and  I  looked  with  grief  on  the 
lessening  rolls  of  men  under  my  command. 

General  Schimmelfening,  an  educated  German  soldier, 
who  commanded  the  second  brigade  of  my  division,  had 
fought "  mit  Siegel "  both  here  and  abroad,  and  was  a  hearty 
republican.  His  brigade  contained  some  of  the  twelve 
regiments  that  formed  the  division  which  I  brought  from 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Eight  of  these  regiments  were 
formed  into  two  brigades ;  but  no  regiment  numbered  over 
two  hundred  men,  and  some  of  them  counted  but  ninety. 
Many  of  these  men  were  formerly  commanded  by  General 
Blenker,  under  Fremont,  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley ;  then 
by  Siegel,  Pope,  McClellan,  Burnside,  Hooker,  and  Meade. 
They  had  fought  in  the  campaigns  which  each  of  these 
generals  had  in  turn  directed,  and  under  many  different 
subordinate  commanders.  Since  the  battle  of  Chancellors- 


224  A  WAR  DIARY. 

ville  their  knapsacks  had  been  stowed  away  under  guard ; 
and  they  had  not  seen  since  then  their  own  shelter-tents 
and  blankets,  but  had  eaten  their  rations  of  fresh  beef  and 
hard  bread,  with  coffee  at  times,  under  borrowed  blankets 
and  canvas.  This  was  part'  of  the  force  with  which  I  began, 
under  Meade,  the  campaign  in  Virginia  in  pursuit  of  Lee. 

A  series  of  reconnoissances  on  Cole's,  John's,  and  Kio- 
wah  islands,  recently  made  by  General  Schimmelfening 
under  my  direction,  brought  that  General  daily  to  my  tent, 
where  I  was  often  both  entertained  and  instructed  by  his 
shrewd  and  keen  remarks.  He  was  well  informed  with 
regard  to  the  armies  of  modern  Europe,  and  had  had  con 
siderable  experience  in  our  war.  His  conversation  did 
much  to  enliven  the  dreary  monotony  of  life  on  Folly 
Island. 

Folly  Island  —  a  dune  or  sand-bank  half  a  mile  in 
width,  with  patches  of  pines  and  palmettos,  with  reaches  of 
meadow,  stagnant  swamps,  and  fiddler-crabs — is  bounded 
by  an  ocean  of  water,  and  yet  has  not  a  drop  to  drink, 
except,  indeed,  the  brackish  fluid  found  three  feet  below 
the  surface.  Very  tropical  is  this  long  and  narrow  bit  of 
land,  with  a  sand-heap  for  its  eastern  and  a  marsh  for  its 
western  boundary,  while  between  was  vegetable  life,  rank 
and  luxurious.  -The  palmetto  reaches  its  cabbage-head  and 
its  long,  sword-like  leaf  upward  towards  the  gorgeous  mag 
nolia  ;  the  Southern  pines,  like  stately  sentinels,  stand  erect 
in  the  forest ;  parasitical  mosses  droop  from  the  trees,  and 
creeping  vines  cover  the  earth.  Loud-mouthed  locusts  fill 
the  air  with  sound ;  the  waters  are  filled  with  oysters,  and 
the  lands  with  diarrhoea.  Eeptiles  and  bugs,  birds  with 
gorgeous  plumage  and  melodious  voices,  here  abound  as 
rich  treasure  for  the  naturalist.  And  here,  too,  crowded 
upon  the  sand-hills  to  escape  the  marsh,  seeking  the  sea- 
breeze  to  kill  the  malaria,  —  here  were  the  camps  and  cook- 


SEA   ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  225 

ing  persons  and  properties  of  my  command.  "Order  is 
Heaven's  first  law  ;"  but  not  that  of  Folly  Island,  — there 
was  not  room  enough  for  order.  The  population  was  too 
dense  to  allow  to  each  man  a  house  and  bit  of  land.  One 
A-tent  will  hold  three  men,  if  they  lie  close  and  don't  kick 
around  much ;  sometimes  we  put  in  four :  the  area  of  four 
was  just  equal  to  the  superficial  area  of  the  tent.  One 
could  not  stand  straight,  for  the  eaves  came  down  to  the 
ground.  A  company  of  sixty  men  lived  in  fifteen  such 
tents, — seven  in  one  row,  and  eight  opposite  ;  and  between 
was  what  we  called  a  street,  varying  in  width  according 
to  the  room  for  the  encampment.  The  street  here  was 
five  paces  wide ;  so  that  it  will  readily  appear  that  we 
were  crowded.  At  one  end  of  this  spacious  avenue  were 
officers'  tents,  also  in  a  row ;  at  the  other  was  the  kitchen, 
while  just  beyond  were  other  company  tents,  miserable 
imitations  of  civilized  life.  Imagine  ten  of  them,  and  you 
will  have  a  regiment ;  imagine  sixty,  and  you  will  have  a 
brigade  numbering  over  six  thousand  men ! 

Here,  then,  was  a  population  somewhat  larger  than  a 
so-called  populous  town  in  New  England.  A  Yankee 
would  "  guess  "  that  the  space  occupied  by  our  town  of  six 
thousand  would  make  a  mean  pasture  for  one  cow;  yet 
here,  by  night  and  by  day,  lived,  ate,  slept,  and  died,  six 
thousand  human  beings.  Ye  Gods!  what  an  imperial 
avenue, — five  paces  in  width,  almost  enough  for  an  unob 
structed  passage  of  a  wheel-barrow!  What  airy  mansions 
these,  in  which  we  could  not  stand  erect !  what  roomy 
apartments,  just  holding  four,  if  they  touched  snugly ! 

I  gave  to  each  encampment  all  the  room  I  could,  and 
enforced  all  sanitary  rules  that  could  be  executed  ;  but  alas 
for  the  result,  where  the  room  was  insufficient !  The  effect 
of  crowded  camps  is  and  must  be  to  fill  the  soil  with  im 
purities,  which  in  this  case  had  a  pernicious  effect  on  the 

15 


226  A  WAR  DIARY. 

health  of  the  brigades.  In  one,  where  the  tents  were  well 
separated  and  ventilated,  I  had  about  2,500  troops,  with 
only  165  sick ;  while  in  another,  comprising  only  1,800 
troops,  there  were  525  sick.  Then  the  essentials  for  living 
in  such  a  community,  —  how  to  get  things,  —  indeed  it 
was  a  complicated  question !  In  the  world,  each  man 
answers  this  question  for  himself ;  and  as  he  succeeds  or 
fails,  he  is  called  wise  or  foolish.  But  it  was  not  so  easy 
for  one  in  our  contracted  community  to  answer  it.  For 
instance,  a  soldier,  one  of  the  six  thousand,  one  fourth  of 
the  number  that  filled  the  A-tent,  wanted  a  coat  or  a  belt, 
a  gun  cartridge,  a  box,  or  a  coffin :  his  captain  made  a 
requisition  on  a  printed  form,  with  particulars  in  writing, 
stating  what  was  wanted ;  a  colonel  approved  the  requi 
sition  ;  so  did  a  brigadier-general ;  so  did  the  commander 
of  a  division ;  so  did  the  quartermaster,  —  for  upon  this 
functionary  finally  the  procuring  and  sending  depended. 
More  than  one  year  before,  General  Mitchell,  then  com 
manding  this  department,  made  a  requisition  upon  the 
quartermaster  for  oak  plank  for  military  purposes,  —  say 
rafts  and  other  uses ;  General  Mitchell  died ;  General 
Hunter  succeeded  him ;  and  then  Gillmore,  —  and  at 
about  the  end  of  August  the  plank  was  received  ! 

Yes,  how  to  get  things,  —  there  was  the  rub,  which 
rubbed  even  harder  than  what  to  do  with  things  when  you 
had  got  them.  How  to  manage  housekeeping  without  a 
house,  cooking  without  a  cook,  catering  without  a  steward, 
and  purchasing  without  a  market,  —  these  were  mysteries. 
It  is  true  we  had  cattle, — beef  cattle,  they  were  called, — 
but  they  had  suffocated  and  fevered  in  cattle-cars  on  their 
way  from  the  West ;  had  made  a  stormy  passage  of  the 
sea,  crowded  on  a  schooner's  deck  and  towed  on  an  ocean 
voyage  to  Hilton  Head,  where  they  were  transferred  again 
to  other  vessels ;  then  another  voyage  of  two  or  three  days, 


•    SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  227 

until  at  length  they  were  landed  in  our  neighborhood. 
There  in  a  close  corral,  on  brackish  water  and  musty  hay, 
sparks  of  life  were  fanned  into  existence,  until  a  merciful 
butcher  ended  them.  But  Death'  with  his  scythe  sometimes 
anticipated  the  bloody  Dutchman  with  his  axe  ;  and  when 
the  former  was  foremost,  the  poor  animal  was,  let  us  trust, 
not  eaten.  But  if  the  latter  was  ahead,  though  for  never 
so  short  a  time,  we  then  got  the  issue  three  times  a  week, 
— thrice  theoretically;  but  at  times  there  were  accidents, 
and  events  not  anticipated,  which  deprived  us  of  our 
ration.  And  if  no  such  mishap,  there  was  the  cook!  — 
ay,  the  cook! 

In  a  fatal  moment  of  forgetfulness  I  once  invited  a 
general  officer  to  dine  with  me,  tempting  him  with  the 
promise  of  a  nice  roast  of  beef,  —  and  this  though  but  a 
few  days  had  passed  since  five  pounds  of  beef  had  been 
placed  in  the  cook's  hands,  resulting  in  the  outside 
being  burned  to  a  cinder,  while  within  it  was  perfectly 
raw  !  To  a  feast  to  be  prepared  by  this  skilful  (  ! )  culi 
nary  artist,  I  had  pressed  General to  be  punctual,  as 

possibly  the  beef  might  be  —  well,  overdone.  This  invi 
tation,  I  may  say,  was  the  result  of  a  momentary  inspira 
tion  on  my  part,  in  which  the  capacity  of  the  cook  never 
for  a  moment  entered  my  head ;  but  as  I  rode  slowly  home 
I  recalled  his  existence  and  his  qualifications  with  some 
apprehension.  However,  the  die  was  cast,  and  the  issue 
must  be  met  Much  care  and  a  special  message  secured 
for  me  ten  pounds  of  the  "  second  cut."  I  saw  it  myself, 
—  fresh,  inviting  upper  slices,  and  tenderloin,  —  as  fair  a 
promise  as  ever  dawned  on  mortal  stomach.  On  the  morn 
ing  of  the  eventful  day  I  began  early  with  my  cook,  giving 
him  instructions  so  simple  and  elementary  (one  instruction 
involving  but  a  single  idea,  with  a  long  rest  between  ideas) 
that  confusion  was  thought  to  be  impossible.  Order,  I  tried 


228  A  WAR  DIARY. 

to  believe,  must  reign  in  the  head  of  this  chef  de  cuisine. 
Informing  him  that  friends  would  dine  with  me  that  day 
at  one  o'clock,  and  that  to  the  appointed  time  he  must  be 
punctual,  very  punctual,  I  filled  his  mind  so  effectually 
with  beef  as  to  force  from  him,  I  fondly  believed,  all 
thought,  dream,  or  hope,  save  that  which  flowed  from  the 
process  of  roasting.  And  yet,  as  the  hours  went  by,  I  had 
misgivings,  painful  lapses  from  a  resigned  trust,  which  were 
strong  enough  to  draw  me  at  half-past  eleven  to  the  coals 
which  my  obdurate  Teuton  ycleped  a  kitchen.  Merciful 
heavens !  shall  I  ever  forget  that  scene  ?  My  hope,  my 
promised  joy  of  beef  ,was  transformed  into  a  burned  and 
shapeless  mass,  hung  like  some  horrid  fruit  from  the  branch 
of  a  neighboring  tree  !  To  my  indignant  questions  the  cook 
replied,  with  an  overwhelming  confidence  in  himself,  — 

"  Oh,  I  roast  him  ! " 

Why  should  this  foreigner  attach  a  masculine  personality 
to  a  junk  of  beef?  It  but  served  to  increase  my  irritability. 
"  Eoast  him  ! "  I  thundered,  "  roast  him  !  and  why  in  the 
(name  of  an  unmentionable  old  sinner)  did  you  '  roast  him ' 
one  hour  and  a  half  before  the  dinner  hour  ? " 

"  Oh,  I  has  a  good  fire  then  ! " 

"  You  incorrigible  Dutchman,  why  did  you  give  to  the 
breeze  that  beef  for  one  hour  and  a  half  ? " 

"  Oh,  I  hang  him  on  de  tree  ! " 

Madness  would  have  overcome  me  had  I  confronted 
this  impenitent  animal  longer.  I  sought  explanations  of 
the  cause  of  committing  this  diabolical  act,  only  to  receive 
repeated  assurances  that  it  had  been  committed,  and  turned 
away  without  another  glance  at  the  swarm  of  flies  which 
were  enjoying  my  dinner.  Fortunately  I  had  received  a 
present  of  peaches ;  with  these  I  overcame  my  guest,  and 
so  filled  him  before  dinner  that  he  received  my  explana 
tions  about  the  beef  with  softened  feelings. 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  229 

Turning  now  from  the  dining  to  the  dying,  we  shall  find 
that  more  here  than  elsewhere  did  red-tape  demand  its 
victims.  Of  all  things  on  earth  that  should  yield  to  neces 
sity,  red-tape  should  abandon  something"  when  human  life 
is  the  alternative.  In  the  field,  if  a  soldier  is  sick  he  should 
be  put  under  the  best  treatment  and  in  the  most  perfect 
shelter  attainable,  with  the  least  possible  delay.  How  this 
was  not  done  in  our  case  I  will  illustrate.  A  captain  of 
my  command  had  typhoid  fever,  and  it  was  necessary  that 
he  should  be  immediately  removed  to  the  hospital  at 
Hilton  Head,  —  the  only  appropriate  place.  He  could  not 
go  in  the  boat  which  carried  the  disabled  from  Morris 
Island,  for  that  \vas  ordered  to  take  only  the  sick  from  that 
'island ;  he  could  not  go  in  a  boat  leaving  the  southern  end 
of  Folly  Island,  because  neither  was  I  allowed  to  send  by 
it,  nor  had  a  board  of  officers,  as  required,  declared  the  man 
to  be  sick ;  he  could  not  go  from  the  northern  end  of  Folly 
Island,  because  there"  I  was  not  in  command.  And  so  in 
a  very  unhealthy  locality,  under  a  shelter-tent,  this  sick 
captain  awaited  for  three  days  the  useless  efforts  of  my 
surgeon-in-chief  to  unravel  the  mystery  of  how  he  could 
get  his  patient  into  the  hospital  at  Hilton  Head,  —  the 
hospital  erected  for  the  sick  in  this  department,  and  for  this 
alone ;  about  this  fact  there  was  no  dispute.  I  believe  I 
stormed  over  this  condition  of  things  until  my  surgeon 
succeeded  in  finding  a  temporary  hospital  on  Folly  Island, 
from  which  the  sick  could  be  sent  to  Hilton  Head  without 
further  circumlocution. 

Another  case  of  almost  malignant  stupidity  relating  to 
the  sick  came  before  me,  through  the  neglect  of  my  division 
surgeon,  —  an  unenergetic  man  with  an  unpronounceable 
name.  A  convalescent  doctor,  going  home  on  leave  of 
absence,  finding  it  absolutely  impossible  to  procure  trans 
portation  to  the  boat,  wrote  to  my  headquarters  for  an 


230  A   WAR   DIARY. 

ambulance.  "  Does  he  wish  me  to  drive  him  ? "  I  asked 
the  messenger,  reflecting  at  the  same  time  that  it  was 
barely  possible  that  in  this  department  of  engineers  ambu 
lances  might  have  been  overlooked,  as  of  no  value  in  siege 
operations.  "  Where,  in  the  name  of  saints  and  martyrs, 
are,  the  ambulances  ? "  I  at  first  softly  ejaculated ;  then 
called  loudly  for  information,  only  to  be  informed  that 
there  was  but  one  two-wheeled  vehicle  for  the  transporta 
tion  of  the  sick  on  the  island.  One  two-wheeled  vehicle 
for  more  than  six  thousand  men !  Twenty  and  more  am 
bulances  I  gave  up  when  I  left  the  Army  of  the  Potomac ; 
and  now  for  the  same  command  there  was  no  ambulance, 
absolutely  none  at  all,  poor  or  good,  in  this  end  of  the 
Department  of  the  South.  Supplies  for  the  body,  for  the 
externals  and  internals  ;  supplies  for  fighting,  —  all  these  I 
had  gone  into,  arid  now  I  turned  to  carriages  for  the  sick. 

"  Mr. [my  aid  and  temporary  assistant  adjutant- 
general],  where  is  the  division  surgeon  ?  " 

"  Gone  home,  sir." 

"  Ah,  yes  !  Any  one  to  answer  for  him,  to  attend  to  his 
duties  ? " 

"  His  clerk,  sir." 

"Call  him." 

"  He  is  n't  in,  sir." 

"  Where  is  he  ? " 

"  Don't  know,  sir." 

"  Who  is  the  next  surgeon  in  rank  ? " 

"  Dr.  Myer,  of  the  second  brigade." 

"  Send  for  him." 

A  sergeant  enters,  and,  saluting,  says :  "  I  can't  get  any 
boards  for  your  tent  floor,  sir." 

"  Mr. ,"  I  said,  turning  to  my  aid,  "  write  a  note 

to  the  provost-marshal,  and  tell  him  to  send  boards.  I 
don't  care  where  he  gets  them." 


SEA  ISLANDS  OFF  CHARLESTON.  231 

"Yes,  sir." 

Now,  Dr.  Myer  presents  himself.  "  Good  morning,  Doc 
tor.  I  wish  you  to  attend  to  the  duties  of  division  surgeon 
in  the  absence  of  Dr. ." 

"  Dr.  Brilliantowski  ranks  me,  sir." 

"  What !  does  he  ?  Mr. ,  send  for  Dr.  Brillian 
towski." 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Dr.  Myer,  we  need  flooring  for  all  of  our  hospitals ;  we 
need  ambulances  and  hay.  There  are  some  three  or  four 
hundred  men  who  will  die  if  they  are  not  sent  home.  Dr. 
Brilliantowski,  the  president  of  the  Medical  Board,  thinks 
there  are  too  many  of  them  to  send  home,  and  yet  I  know 
they  will  die  if  they  remain."  Then,  turning  again  to  my 
aid,  I  directed  an  order  to  be  sent  to  the  quartermaster  to 
seize  any  lumber  he  could  find  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
island,  and  take  it  for  hospital  purposes.  "  Send  in  your 

requisitions  for  hay,  Dr.  Myer ;  and  Mr. ,  I  desire  you 

to  tell  the  quartermaster  to  make  a  requisition  for  two 
ambulances,  one  for  each  brigade  of  the  division.  And, 
Dr.  Myer,  I  shall  insist  that  Dr.  Brilliantowski  shall  send 
home  such  sick  men  as  are  in  danger  here."  Exit  Myer, 
and  enter  German  cook. 

"  De  orderle,  he  can  get  no  meat,  sir." 

"  Well,"  —  damn  the  orderly,  I  was  about  saying,  but 
did  n't,  —  "  who  is  the  orderly  ?  " 

"  Dat  bugler." 

"  Oh,  a  Dutchman !    Of  course  he  can't." 

"  No  brade  neither,"  adds  the  cook. 

"  Clear  out !    Captain ,  see  what  is  the  matter." 

Enter  Brilliantowski.  "  Good  morning,  Doctor ;  you  will 

act  as  division  surgeon  during  the  absence  of  Dr .  I 

wish  you  to  make  a  rigid  examination  of  hospitals,  and 
see  that  everything  is  supplied.  Get  ambulances,  hay, 


232  A  WAR  DIARY. 

flooring,  medicines,  fresh  vegetables,  and  all  things  needed 
for  sick  men.  Send  home  such  as  will  die  if  you  don't, 
and  send  others  to  Hilton  Head."  Exit  Brilliantowski, 
and  enter  General  Schimmelfening. 

"  I  have  come  to  report  to  you,  General,  the  result  of 
my  reconnoissance  on  Kiowah  Island  yesterday,  as  simply 
that  I  did  not  catch  the  Eebel  pickets,  and  was  fired  at 
from  Sea  Brook  Island,  but  without  any  casualties." 

Perhaps  this  chapter,  from  one  day's  experiences  in 
this  department,  may  help  to  explain  some  facts  which 
puzzled  our  people  so  much,  concerning  the  waste  of  men 
in  war.  Is  it  unaccountable  what  becomes  of  an  army  ? 
The  good  folks  at  home  know  that  as  many  men  were 
sent  to  the  war  as  the  total  will  amount  to  of  all  the  names 
that  can  be  remembered  by  some  one  in  every  village, 
town,  and  city  in  the  North ;  and  that  if  all  these  names 
are  counted,  there  will  be  three,  or  thirty,  or  three  hun 
dred  thousand  men,  all  of  them  Jacks,  Jameses,  or  Johns, 
or  something  else,  well  known  in  the  home.  How  did  it 
happen  that  so  few  of  them  were  present  for  duty  ?  Where 
had  they  gone  ;  how  faded  away  ?  They  were  somewhere, 
certainly ;  but  where  ?  I  will  not  now  take  into  account 
the  dead,  killed  in  action ;  but  I  will  endeavor  to  answer 
that  mystery  of  why,  when  men  had  not  been  killed  -in 
action,  so  many  recruits  were  required  to  take  the  places 
of  the  well-remembered  but  unaccounted-for  originals. 
Here  is  the  report  of  one  division  in  the  army  of  the 
United  States.  Can  I  account  for  every  man  in  that 
division,  every  unit  of  each  company  that  formed  the  regi 
ment,  —  the  men  who  marched  as  James,  Jack,  and  John 
from  the  old  town  or  city  in  which  they  grew  up  ? 

All  the  living  men  on  the  first  day  of  September,  1863, 
contained  in  the  two  brigades  of  my  division  numbered 
seven  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven.  These  two 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHAKLESTON.  233 

brigades  held  six  regiments  in  each ;  twelve  in  all.  If  I 
had  now  the  numbers  of  those  who  originally  enlisted,  and 
the  date  of  enlistment  of  each  regiment  and  its  service,  I 
could  tell  how  long  and  through  what  agencies  the  twelve 
thousand  men  (if  each  regiment  numbered  one  thousand) 
had  dwindled  by  death  to  seven  thousand  four  hundred 
and  sixty-seven.  But  it  will  be  instructive  to  deal  with 
the  living,  of  which  four  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight  were  present  with  their  commands  upon  these 
islands,  —  present,  but  not  fit  for  duty.  Some  were  sick ; 
many  unto  death.  Five  hundred  and  two  were  tossing 
in  pain  in  that  infernal  region,  victims  of  this  siege  of 
Charleston.  Two  hundred  and  fifty-six  more  were  detailed 
as  commissary's  and  quartermaster's  men, — workmen,  team 
sters,  boatmen,  carpenters,  and  laborers  in  other  necessary 
service,  in  military  and  ordinary  duties  required  to  keep 
Gillmore's  machine  in  operation.  Twenty-six  were  in 
arrest,  in  the  guard-house.  This  leaves  three  thousand 
four  hundred  and  four  to  do  the  fighting  on  the  first  day 
of  September,  1863. 

Not  two  years  before  this,  these  twelve  regiments  of 
twelve  thousand  men  left  their  native  towns  with  the 
cheers  and  exultations  of  admiring  crowds  ringing  in  their 
ears.  Let  us  see  where  are  the  absentees.  There  must 
be  three  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-nine  of  them, 
for  that  is  the  difference  between  the  total  —  present  and 
absent  —  and  the  present ;  not  the  present  fighting  force, 
for  that  must  be  diminished  by  the  sick  and  in  arrest,  as  I 
have  explained.  Nineteen  commissioned  officers  and  two 
hundred  and  eighty  enlisted  men  were  absent  within  that 
department.  They  were  at  Beaufort,  at  Hilton  Head,  on 
Morris  Island,  or  sent  somewhere  by  Gillrnore.  Outside 
that  department  there  were  two  hundred  and  eighty  com 
missioned  officers,  and  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and 


234  A  WAK  DIARY. 

sixty-four  enlisted  men;  what  were  they  doing?  This 
question  opens  a  wide  field  to  the  explorer.  There  were 
the  sick  who  had  recovered,  and  who  were  blacking  boots 
for  surgeons  in  hospitals  throughout  the  loyal  part  of  the 
United  States ;  the  sick  who  had  died,  and  no  account  of 
them  been  rendered;  the  discharged  that  had  not  been 
reported ;  and  the  absent,  detailed,  and  furloughed.  The 
names  of  these  men  were  enrolled  on  the  regimental  record, 
and  all  of  them  were  on  the  company  report-books,  in 
which  the  history  of  each  man  was  kept. 

After  a  completely  organized  army  has  been  ground  up 
in  the  crash  of  battle,  it  is  a  work  of  peculiar  interest  to 
trace  the  particles,  and  thus  account  for  the  rivulet  into 
which  the  torrent  has  wasted.  Some  sixty  days  after  the 
battle  of  Antietam,  I  found  a  soldier  standing  at  the  door 
of  a  common  farm-house  near  the  field  where  the  battle 
had  been  fought.  "  What  are  you  doing  here  ?  "  I  inquired. 
"  Well,  I  was  left  here  by  my  colonel  to  guard  this 
house,"  was  the  reply. 

"  When  were  you  left  here  ?" 

"Well,  the  day  of  the  fight." 

"  Why,  that  was  sixty  days  ago  ! " 

"  Yes ;  but  he  never  relieved  me." 

"  And  where  is  your  regiment  now  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Well,  I  s'pose  it  has  gone  on  Harper's  Ferry  way." 

"  What  were  you  to  guard  this  house  against  ? "  I  said. 

"  Well,  I  suppose  the  soldiers." 

"  But  the  soldiers  have  been  gone  these  two  months  ! " 

"  Well,  yes ;  but  I  was  never  relieved." 

I  ordered  this  sneaking  coward  to  strap  on  his  knap 
sack  and  start  for  his  regiment.  He  had  taken  advantage 
of  the  stupidity  or  criminality  of  his  colonel,  or  captain,  to 
remain  for  sixty  days  at  this  house,  while  his  comrades 
were  doing  his  share  of  the  work  in  an  arduous  campaign ; 


SEA  ISLANDS  OFF   CHARLESTON.  235 

and  all  because  he  was  not  man  enough  properly  to  inter 
pret  his  orders.  I  will  be  bound  that  he  did  not  forget  to 
draw  his  pay  for  that  time. 

Many  other  instances  of  this  kind  occurred  upon  the 
Potomac  within  the  area  of  my  command,  after  the  battle 
of  Antietam,  in  which  I  ordered  men  —  some  of  whom 
were  guarding  property,  some  staying  with  wounded  com 
rades,  some  with  wounded  officers,  but  almost  all  sneaks 
from  duty  and  from  danger  —  to  rejoin  their  regiments- 
But  it  would  require  a  volume  to  deal  specifically  with  this 
question,  and  would,  moreover,  be  too  monotonous  to  be 
interesting,  involving  the  same  dreary  repetitions  of  skulk 
ing  and  desertion,  of  death  and  disease.  It  will  be  much 
more  profitable  to  return  to  the  narrative  of  events. 

To  the  west  of  Folly  Island,  and  separated  from  it  by  a 
deep  and  narrow  inlet,  lies  Cole's  Island,  —  a  low,  marshy 
spot,  crossed  by  two  causeways,  and  occupied  by  mos 
quitoes  and  one  regiment  of  my  division.  One  Sunday  I 
visited  the  line  of  outlying  pickets  on  James  Island  beyond 
Cole's,  and  found  them  so  near  the  Rebel  sentinels  (less 
than  two  hundred  yards)  that  they  could  easily  talk  with 
each  other;  there  was  only  a  dividing  slough  between. 
This  would  have  been  a  dangerous  site,  but  that  it  was 
understood  there  should  be  no  firing,  simply  because  there 
had  been  none  for  some  days.  We  trusted,  and  the  Reb 
els  trusted,  that  neither  side  would  resume  picket-firing 
without  ample  warning.  It  thus  happens  that  mortal 
enemies  will  sometimes  indulge  in  social  recreations  which 
soften  the  asperities  of  war.  Now  and  then  our  men  were 
saluted  with  "  Come,  Yanks  !  have  a  chat,  will  you  ? "  or, 
"  Yanks  !  how  do  you  like  mosquitoes  ?  "  But  efforts  by 
either  to  discover  the  real  numbers  and  position  of  oppos 
ing  forces  were  sometimes  amusingly  parried.  One  of  my 
officers,  disguised  in  a  private's  uniform,  met  in  the  middle 


236  A  WAR  DIARY. 

of  the  bridge  which  crossed  the  dividing  stream  a  man 
dressed  in  Confederate  gray,  who^  seemed  to  be  a  private 
soldier.  Both  were  unarmed. 

"  You  have  quite  a  cavalry  force  here  I "  suggested  the 
Yankee,  inquiringly. 

"  Can  I  buy  any  cheese  of  you  ? "  replied  the  other. 

At  times,  however,  we  gained  positive  advantages 
through  verbal  information  or  in  newspaper  exchanges. 
Thus  we  read  in  a  Charleston  paper  of  the  16th  of  Sep 
tember  an  admission  that  the  outside  of  Sumter  was  effect 
ually  battered  down;  but  there  was  also  in  the  same 
connection  a  strong  insinuation  that  the  strength  of  the 
inside  would  surprise  us.  Names  of  our  naval  officers 
captured  at  Sumter  were  also  therein  given ;  and  the  dead 
killed  by  our  shells  at  the  various  batteries  in  the  harbor 
were  eulogized.  From  the  same  source  came  a  surprising 
statement  concerning  the  doubtful  valor  of  that  quondam 
fire-eater  and  ex-Congressman  Keitt  (the  Keitt  of  the 
Brooks-Sumner  assault)  during  the  last  day  of  his  com 
mand  at  Fort  Wagner ;  for  he  it  was  who  sought  notoriety 
there.  When  this  valiant  South  Carolinian  saw  that  Gill- 
more  had  almost  dug  him  out, —  a  few  more  shovelfuls  ere 
the  hounds  would  be  in  full  pursuit,  —  he  asked  in  terror 
of  Beauregard,  very  like  the  "Anne,  Sister  Anne!"  in  Blue 
beard,  if  the  boats  were  not  coming  to  take  the  garrison 
away.  Looking  anxiously  towards  Charleston,  fearful  that 
every  rising  cloud  might  turn  out  to  be  the  "flock  of 
sheep  "  of  Sister  Anne,  appalled  at  the  proximity  of  the 
Bluebeard  Yankees,  he  impressed  his  commander  with  the 
conviction  that  if  he  had  any  preference,  it  was  not  to 
remain  longer  in  Wagner.  When  it  became  known,  how 
ever,  that  the  boats  were  on  the  way,  that  the  cloud  was 
not  a  flock  of  sheep  at  all,  then  Keitt  cried  out  with  hys 
teric  valor,  "  I  will  fight  till  the  last  man  is  killed  !  We 


SEA   ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  237 

ought  to  fight  to-night ! "  But  at  night  the  boats  came  ; 
the  gallant  Keitt  embarked,  and  proceeded  to  roar  in  the 
Charleston  papers  louder  than  Falstaff  at  Gaclshill.  We 
will  not  call  him  a  coward,  —  no ;  but  we  might  offer  a 
thousand  pounds  to  any  man  who  could  run  as  fast  as 
Keitt  did. 

There  were  other  articles  of  interest  in  this  Charleston 
newspaper.  A  piteous  appeal  for  peace  ended  with  a 
solemn  declaration  that  the  South  would  never  give'  up  the 
contest.  Then  followed  an  article  by  a  poor  but  sensible 
man,  who  asked  why  he  could  get  only  fifty  dollars  for  a 
whole  hide  of  leather,  and  yet  was  obliged  to  pay  seventy- 
five  for  a  single  pair  of  boots:  was  it  that  the  planters 
caused  high  prices,  by  keeping  their  slaves  at  home  and 
compelling  skilled  white  labor  to  do  all  the  work  of  the 
soldier  in  the  field  ?  A  raw-and-bloody-bones  article  came 
next.  "  Let  us  keep  the  Yankee  prisoners  in  Sumter,"  it 
said,  "  to  prevent  any  further  bombardment  of  the  same ; 
and  make  them  take  the  fort  fairly."  This  was  a  germ  of 
wisdom,  certainly !  Place  our  prisoners  in  range  of  our 
own  shots  ?  How  would  the  Rebels  have  liked  to  see  us 
sailing  into  Charleston  Harbor  with  their  people,  our  pris 
oners,  lashed  to  the  decks  of  our  monitors  ?  To  be  sure, 
they  were  shelling  the  whole  of  Morris  Island;  but  we 
intended  to  return  their  compliments  when  our  hundred- 
pounder  Parrotts  were  in  position  on  Cumming's  Point,  and 
Forts  Wagner  and  Gregg  were  "  turned  around,"  as  old 
Governor  Wise  of  Virginia  said  of  the  earthworks  in  front 
of  Williamsburg,  which  we  closed  up  at  the  rear  when  we 
had  captured  them.  This  objection  to  the  further  bombard 
ment  of  Sumter  contained  an  element  of  Rebel  humor, 
which  was  more  striking  in  view  of  Gillmore's  congratu 
latory  order,  published  that  same  day,  wherein  he  thanked 
his  troops  for  taking  Morris  Island,  banging  Sumter  into 


238  A  WAR  DIAKY. 

a  useless  pile  of  bricks,  and  placing  the  harbor  and  city  of 
Charleston  under  the  guns  of  our  batteries.  Yet  we  beheld 
the  Eebel  flag  run  up  daily  on  those  ruins  which  neither 
Dahlgren  nor  Gillmore  could  occupy  or  neglect,  —  those 
battered  ruins  on  whose  impregnable  walls  heavy  siege- 
guns,  newly  mounted,  closed  the  city  of  Charleston  against 
our  efforts. 

Meanwhile  Gillmore  was  aroused  by  unfounded  rumors, 
or  stirred  by  groundless  suspicions.  The  night  of  the  17th 
of  September  was  a  night  of  storm.  The  ground  trembled 
with  the  thud  of  breaking  waves ;  the  tents  shook  and 
swayed  in  the  tempest.  I  had  just  fallen  asleep,  when  I 
was  aroused  by  a  messenger  with  a  note  from  Gillmore, 
that  he  had  "positive  information  that  an  attempt  would 
be  made  to-night  to  surprise  your  [my]  post."  It  availed 
nothing  that  I  knew  this  fear  was  without  foundation. 
Where  in  the  name  of  common-sense  were  the  Eebels  to 
come  from  ?  How  in  a  night  of  tempest  like  this  could 
they  handle  boats  on  Folly  Eiver  or  on  the  Stono  ?  Never 
theless,  the  "  Pawnee "  had  to  be  warned,  and  (at  Gill- 
more's  suggestion)  some  of  my  infantry  offered  to  Captain 
Balch  to  repel  boarders.  Out  into  the  darkness  and  pelting 
storm  I  sent  aids  and  orderlies  flying  in  every  direction, 
to  stir  from  their  slumbers  in  one  grand  muss  the  sleeping 
columns  of  my  division.  In  a  few  moments  drums  were 
sounding,  bugles  echoing,  and  troops  marching.  General 
Schimmelfening,  with  his  whole  brigade,  I  directed  to  the 
end  of  the  island  near  the  entrance  of  Stono  Eiver,  the 
place  where  the  first  attempt  at  a  hostile  landing  should 
be  met.  I  posted  General  Ames  where  he  could  throw 
assistance  to  General  Schimmelfening,  or  move  opposite 
Secessionville  if  Eebels  chose  to  come  that  way.  Batteries 
were  aroused,  and  sleepy  sentinels,  dozing  in  the  rain  over 
their  posts,  quickened  into  keen  activity.  In  thirty  minutes 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  239 

a  sleeping  camp  had  become  a  moving  body  of  armed  men. 
The  sloop-of-war  "  Pawnee,"  a  few  moments  since  holding 
her  crew  in  the  unconsciousness  of  slumber  while  she 
lay  idly  in  the  stream,  had  called  all  her  men  to  action ; 
her  guns  were  ready,  and  all  her  offensive  arrangements 
made. 

Broad  daylight  came  at  last.  The  storm  and  wind  con 
tinued;  black  billows  from  the  ocean  still  rolled  and 
scolded  on  the  beach ;  the  air  was  thick  with  mist ;  the 
troops  were  tired,  wet,  and  cold  ;  everything  about  us  was 
wretched  and  raw,  —  and  this  was  all  that  happened  !  It 
was  not  until  a  day  or  two  later  that  we  knew  whence  the 
"  positive  information  "  came.  Gillmore  employed  a  scout 
who  pretended  to  be  an  expert  in  the  mechanism  of  tele 
graphy.  If  he  could  use  his  art  to  some  good  end,  he  might 
profit  greatly.  Charleston  and  Savannah  were  connected 
by  a  wire.  A  daring  man  might  approach  it  by  night  and 
take  off  Rebel  communications, — tapping  the  wires,  it  was 
called.  This  the  scout  proceeded  to  do ;  and  whether  he 
knew  as  much  of  what  was  passing  as  the  woodpecker  that 
tapped  the  hollow  beech  tree  in  the  adjacent  swamps,  or 
whether  he  knew  more,  he  reported  to  Gillmore  that  troops 
were  coming  that  very  night  to  attack  us.  To  prevent  a 
like  disturbance  from  occurring  again,  I  occupied,  the  next 
day,  Kiowah  Island,  south  of  Folly.  This  island,  like  all 
hereabouts,  is  but  a  narrow  sandy  ridge  covered  with  a 
scrubby  growth  of  wood,  on  its  western  side  bounded  by 
an  extensive  marsh.  A  narrow  water-course,  an  inner  pas 
sage  from  Stono  to  Edisto  Inlet,  separates  John's  Island 
from  Kiowah,  and  receives  the  drainage  of  the  marsh  and 
creeks  which  cut  up  Kiowah  in  its  seven  miles  of  length. 
The  Eebel  pickets  were  posted  on  a  dilapidated  bridge  on 
John's  Island,  where  they  could  talk  with  our  men,  or 
make  harmless  incursions  upon  our  domain. 


240  A  WAR  DIARY. 

To  repeat  in  detail  the  too  tedious  incidents  of  daily  life 
in  efforts  to  keep  my  command  in  good  health  and  condi 
tion;  to  tell  of  all  the  varied  subjects  which  served  to 
lighten  the  weary  hours  of  watching  on  Folly  Island ;  to 
dwell  upon  the  never-ceasing  sound  of  heavy  guns,  —  this 
would  be  tiresome  and  of  but  little  profit  in  the  history 
of  proceedings  in  the  Department  of  the  South.  Days 
wore  on  with  an  increased  mortality,  as  the  fire  of  Eebel 
gunners  was  plied  with  greater  vigor  to  drive  away  or 
annoy  workmen  engaged  on  Cumming's  Point.  Seven 
soldiers  from  the  Engineer  Corps  were  killed  there  by  a 
single  shell,  which  exploded  behind  a  traverse.  A  daring 
officer,  with  admirable  coolness,  seated  himself  calmly 
on  the  parapet,  unmoved  by  the  shells  which  burst  over 
him  from  Sumter,  Charleston,  and  Moultrie,  and  gazed  se 
renely  on  the  spires  of  the  city,  the  ruins  of  Sumter,  and 
works  adjacent.  Such  presumption  was  rash.  Improved 
artillery  delivers  its  missile  with  the  precision  of  a  rifle  ; 
and  a  fatal  shot  severed  in  twain  the  body  of  this  fool 
hardy  man. 

In  a  Charleston  paper  of  the  twenty-first,  exchanged 
with  Eebel  pickets  at  my  outposts,  we  learned  that  the 
occupation  of  Chattanooga  by  Eosecrans  troubled  the 
Eebel  leaders.  Bragg,  the  Eebel  commander,  —  Braxton 
Bragg,  the  "  little  more  grape  "  Bragg,  of  Buena  Vista  no 
toriety,  under  old  Zachary  Taylor ;  the  Bragg  of  the  old 
army,  who  had  graduated  at  West  Point,  with  whom 
I  had  often  been  associated  in  garrison  and  in  field, — 
this  Bragg  published  an  order  to  his  troops,  in  which  he 
declared  that  they  must  fight,  and  "  your  general  will  lead 
you."  In  imagination  the  sound  of  Bragg's  artillery 
mingled  with  the  bugle  signals  and  the  solemn,  never- 
ceasing  roar  of  the  surf.  They  were  more  real  than  the 
echo  of  our  guns  levelled  against  Sumter,  and  more  impor- 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  241 

tant  than  the  doom  which  Gillmore  fancied  he  was  pre 
paring  for  Charleston. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  I  received  a  visit  from  Gen 
eral  Wilde,  who  was  proposing  to  form  a  negro  brigade. 
The  general  was  a  gallant  man,  as  he  had  shown  on 
many  a  field.  At  South  Mountain  his  left  arm  was 
taken  off,  and  he  was  wounded  in  the  remaining  hand- 
His  brother;  who  was  his  aide-de-camp,  had  lost  an 
eye ;  and  so  it  happened  that  between  the  two  the  full 
and  disposable  complement  of  eyes  and  arms  was  three 
of  each. 

On  the  morning  of  September  26,  1863,  there  came  a 
newspaper  from  the  North,  dated  the  twentieth,  confirm 
ing  the  rumor  current  with  us  some  time  earlier  of  the 
escape  from  Eichmond  and  arrival  at  Morris  Island  of 
three  men  who  were  captured  in  one  of  our  recent  efforts 
upon  Wagner.  These  men  confirmed  the  report  which 
had  come  to  us  through  a  Rebel  paper  a  few  days  before, 
that  a  large  movement  of  Rebel  troops  southward  from 
Richmond  had  taken  place,  which  report  created  in  me 
no  little  anxiety.  Nevertheless,  to  visit  Kiowah  Island 
and  inspect  the  fortifications  erecting  there ;  to  fall  back 
on  the  sport  of  curlew-shooting,  and  the  rich  gain,  to  my 
mess  of  ten  birds,  with  an  addition  of  small  oysters  (in 
which  latter  the  rivers  and  inlets  abound) ;  to  hail  the 
arrival  of  fresh  beef,  —  these  are  but  new  illustrations  that 
man  is  mortal,  and  the  subject  of  appetite  under  all  cir 
cumstances.  But  so  passed  the  day  ;  and  then  came  Sun 
day,  the  twenty-seventh.  Sunday  is  certainly  not  a  day  of 
rest  in  the  army  ;  and  this  Sunday  in  particular  I  spent  in 
ascertaining  how  many  bakers  were  required  to  bake  six 
thousand  rations  of  bread  daily  for  my  men,  and  how  many 
butchers  to  kill  beef  for  them;  in  examining  the  condi 
tion  of  outposts,  writing  letters,  directions,  and  orders,  and 

16 


242  A  WAR  DIAEY. 

taking  steps  for  self-preservation  from  the  action  of  this 
wilful  moon,  which  my  orderly  declared  was  "  larger  than 
the  moon  we  have  up  North."  Inch  hy  inch  the  land  was 
disappearing  in  front  of  my  encampment,  and  tumbling 
down  the  precipitous  bank  which  the  powerful  waves  had 
made  in  the  yielding  soil.  All  forms  of  vegetable  and  ani 
mal  life  were  thus  drawn  downward  into  ocean  depths,  to 
be  covered  and  pressed  down  still  further  by  ever  increas 
ing  deposits.  In  view  of  this  inevitable  process,  I  could 
not  help  surmising  that  in  ages  hence,  when  all  that  I  then 
stood  upon  should  have  been  submerged,  and  new  land 
created  in  its  place,  some  Hugh  Miller  of  the  future  might 
find  my  hapless  corpse  imprinted  in  a  new  Silurian  system, 
—  the  only  senseless  specimen  that  had  not  sense  enough 
to  move  inland.  In  fear  of  this,  I  strengthened  my  foun 
dations  with  huge  logs ;  but  the  advancing  tide  tore  them 
away  like  straws,  wrenched  them  out,  and  tumbled  them 
about  in  defiance. 

While  thus  meditating  flight  and  geologic  changes,  my 
attention  was  called  from  my  own  safety  by  a  despatch 
from  General  Vogdes,  who  sent  one  evening  at  nine  o'clock 
a  messenger  to  inform  me  that  an  officer  on  duty  on  Long 
Island,  in  front  of  Folly,  had  observed  a  large  force  of 
the  enemy  passing  through  Secessionville  towards  Stono 
Eiver.  The  march  was  at  night;  but  the  troops  were 
counted,  as  they  passed  before  a  light  within  the  town. 
This  village,  which  was  within  range  of  some  of  our  heaviest 
guns,  had  not  been  occupied  by  Eebel  soldier  or  citizen ; 
and  we  had  been  wont  to  make  excursions  there.  A  hos 
tile  movement,  so  carelessly  made,  seemed  hardly  possible  ; 
but,  nevertheless,  troops  had  to  be  held  in  readiness,  while 
boats  were  sent  to  reconnoitre.  The  "  Pawnee "  having 
been  warned,  and  pickets  cautioned,  I  devoted  the  rest  of 
the  night  to  preparations,  until  greeted  by  the  morning's 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  243 

sun.  We  saw  no  more  of  the  enemy,  and  we  had  no  fight. 
During  the  day,  however,  there  seemed  to  be  a  movement 
of  the  Rebel  pickets  towards  the  'Stono,  which  induced  me 
to  direct  rifle-pits  to  be  prepared  on  Kiowah  and  Cole's 
islands. 

This  disposed  of  our  time  until  the  twenty-ninth,  which 
brought  with  it  a  paper  from  New  York,  dated  the  twenty- 
third,  revealing  what  I  had  feared  might  take  place.  Rose- 
crans  had  been  beaten  in  Tennessee.  The  Rebel  pickets 
who,  two  or  three  days  before,  had  called  over  to  mine, 
"We  have  licked  Rosecrans,  and  taken  more  than  thirty 
thousand  prisoners,"  —  those  Rebel  pickets  who  received 
with  derision  the  retort  of  ours,  "  That 's  more  men  than  he 
had  in  the  fight,"  —  had,  after  all,  cause  for  satisfaction. 
The  official  intelligence  spoke  of  Rosecrans  being  com 
pelled  to  fall  back  to  Chattanooga,  of  desperate  fighting, 
of  loss  of  some  artillery  and  prisoners ;  yet  of  course  the 
article  added :  "  Rosecrans  inflicted  great  loss  upon  the 
enemy,  but  was  overpowered  by  numbers,  a  large  portion 
of  Lee's  army  being  opposed  to  him."  As  we  lingered  over 
this  cheerful  information,  we  pondered  on  our  fears  when 
we  read  in  the  Charleston  papers  of  the  nineteenth  of  the 
exclusion  of  citizens  from  the  use  of  the  northeastern  rail 
way,  as  it  was  wanted  for  troops.  Rosecrans  had  been 
whipped  and  driven  back  to  Chattanooga,  and  the  reoccupa- 
tion  of  Tennessee  by  the  Rebels  had  begun.  Was  it  con 
tinued  ?  The  first  blow  had  fallen ;  any  day,  I  thought, 
might  bring  events  of  great  moment. 

Meanwhile  I  found  it  hard  to  dwell  with  patience  upon 
the  silly  and  unprovoked  quarrel  which  Gillmore  had 
brought  to  a  culmination  with  the  Admiral.  Envious  of 
Dahlgren,  and  determined  if  possible  to  attribute  to  the 
navy  his  own  failure  to  achieve  anything,  Gillmore  had 
replied  to  a  note  from  the  Admiral  in  a  petulant  spirit. 


244  A  WAR  DIARY. 

The  naval  commander  had  written  to  our  chief  of  engineers, 
that  he  wished  to  have  removed  those  obstructions  in  the 
harbor  which  barred  his  nearer  approach  to  Charleston. 
Sumter  he  considered  an  obstacle  to  such  an  approach ; 
"  and  although,"  he  continued,  "  I  could  remove  it  [Sumter], 
I  do  not  like  to  put  this  task  upon  my  iron-clads,  which  I 
wish  to  preserve  for  the  great  work  of  reducing  the  diffi 
culties  I  may  find  after  I  get  in."  The  letter  ended  with  a 
request  that  Gillmore  would  possess  the  work.  As  reason 
able  as  this  request  was,  and  as  fully  justified  as  the  Ad 
miral  was  in  making  it,  it  filled  our  engineer  commander 
with  anger.  Gillmore  had  come  down  to  the  Department 
of  the  South  to  make  things  lively ;  to  remove  such  ob 
structions  as  would  prevent  the  entrance  of  iron-clads  into 
the  harbor  of  Charleston ;  to  hold  the  rebellious  city  under 
our  guns,  or  to  demolish  it  at  will.  The  events  which 
occurred  before  my  arrival,  and  which  I  had  often  heard 
discussed,  —  of  Gillmore's  descent  from  Folly  to  Morris 
Island ;  his  failure  at  Wagner ;  and  his  occupation,  when 
the  enemy  withdrew,  of  the  whole  of  Morris  Island,  — 
these  I  have  already  mentioned.  These  operations  had, 
to  be  sure,  been  interspersed  with  a  great  deal  of  artillery 
pounding,  as  I  have  also  recorded.  Under  this  Sumter 
grew  day  by  day  more  impregnable,  though  much  of  its 
beauty  had  disappeared.  There  had  also  been  a  great  deal 
said  of  the  Swamp  Angel,  and  much  about  firing  into 
Charleston;  and  there  had  been  one  or  two  disastrous 
attempts  to  assault  "  defenceless  "  Sumter,  in  which  we 
had  lost  heavily.  Since  the  12th  of  August  how  little  had 
been  accomplished,  and  at  what  a  sacrifice  had  that  little 
been  gained  !  Indeed,  without  the  destruction  of  all  the 
forts  which  shut  out  the  iron-clads  from  Charleston  Har 
bor,  not  one  really  useful  step  had  been  taken.  And  this 
the  Admiral  asserted. 


SEA  ISLANDS  OFF  CHARLESTON.  245 

"  The  only  fort  you  have  attempted,"  he  wrote  to  Gillmore, 
"Sumter,  you  have  not  reduced  at  all."  This  upon  the 
very  heels  of  our  engineer's  promotion  to  a  major-general 
ship  of  volunteers  for  doing  that  which  an  army  of  obser 
vers  at  Washington  publicly  praised,  but  which  an  army 
of  fighters  on  the  spot  privately  condemned  !  This,  while 
from  iron-clad  to  tender  the  navy  saluted  Gillmore's  pro 
motion  !  This,  too,  in  the  presence  of  puffings  and  praises 
in  the  Northern  newspapers,  which  undertook  to  show 
that  he  had  to  contend  with  a  line  of  small  development, 
with  sand  of  little  depth  for  his  trenches,  in  his  advance 
with  pick  and  spade  on  Wagner ;  and  also  with  the  fire 
of  two  forts  in  his  front,  while  (according  to  tnem)  he 
was  reducing  a  third  —  Sumter  —  beyond.  This  was  ful 
some  praise,  and  with  not  a  word  about  the  navy,  without 
whom  Gillmore  could  not  have  stayed  an  hour  on  Morris 
Island.  At  such  a  time  as  this,  in  the  very  heat  and  fire 
of  his  fame,  with  the  plaudits  of  an  admiring  engineer 
corps  ringing  in  his  ears,  with  the  parchment  recording  his 
promotion  to  be  a  major-general  (for  the  reduction  of  Sum 
ter  and  laying  Charleston  at  our  feet)  from  a  too  zealous 
and  over-credulous  Secretary  of  War,  — just  here  and  now 
to  be  asked  to  reduce  Sumter,  was  too  cruel  and  keen  a 
thrust,  and  it  elicited  a  reply  in  which  ill-concealed  rage 
and  satire  were  combined.  Imagine  Napoleon  receiving, 
a  laurel  crown  for  Waterloo,  or  his  successor  for  Sedan ! 
"By  concurrent  testimony  of  deserters,"  wrote  Gillmore, 
"  by  admissions  in  Southern  papers  of  eye-witnesses,  as 
well  as  by  your  own,  Fort  Sumter  is  no  longer  to  be  con 
sidered  capable  of  doing  any  harm  to  any  one.  But,"  he 
continued,  "if  you  think,  after  one  naval  failure  to  capture 
this  fort,  the  few  infantry  there  are  any  real  obstacle  to  your 
removal  of  the  obstructions  from  Sumter  to  Sullivan's 
Island,  I  will  agree  to  remove  them  with  my  own  force." 


246  A  WAR  DIARY. 

To  this  threat  of  converting  his  infantry  into  marines  to 
grub  for  obstructions  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  the  Admiral 
responded  that  Gillmore  had  misunderstood  him.  He 
wished  him  to  open  again  with  his  guns  upon  Sumter ; 
and  he  had  no  more  ground  for  saying  that  he  would 
remove  obstructions  for  the  Admiral  because  of  the  request 
contained  in  his  letter,  than  would  the  Admiral  have  to 
offer  to  dig  Gillmore's  trenches  because  he  asked  him  to 
keep  down  for  him  the  fire  of  Wagner.  This  hit  at  our 
chief  was  a  fair  one ;  but  it  availed  not,  for  before  the 
Admiral's  reply  had  been  received,  Gillmore  returned  to 
Ms  routine  of  pounding  the  already  pulverized  embank 
ments  of  Sumter ;  and  although  a  great  deal  of  noise  was 
made,  and  a  great  amount  of  money  squandered,  Sumter, 
holding  its  force  unharmed,  replied  with  its  heavy  artillery, 
and  laughed  at  our  impotent  efforts. 

I  awoke  on  the  morning  of  the  13th  oi  September  to 
receive  papers  from  New  York,  of  the  twenty-fifth,  wherein 
I  learned  the  full  measure  of  the  disaster  to  Eosecrans.  It 
was  better  than  I  feared.  Though  we  were  compelled  to 
fall  back  before  superior  numbers,  the  enemy  gained  but 
little.  The  Rebel  General  Harris,  of  Tennessee,  on  Sunday 
night  telegraphed  that  the  contest  was  undecided.  That 
night  Rosecrans  fell  back,  and  on  the  next  morning  Harris 
reported  that  the  victory  was  complete,  although  nothing 
but  the  falling  back  of  the  Federal  general  enabled  him  to 
discover  it,  and  although  Rosecrans  at  Chattanooga  assured 
the  Government  that  he  could  hold  his  position  against 
anything  the  Rebels  could  bring  against  him.  Meade  had 
again  crossed  the  Rapidan.  He  was  at  Madison  Court- 
House  closing  up  the  railroad  line  via  Knoxville  to  Chat 
tanooga;  so  that  he  would  soon  be  able  to  communicate 
with  Rosecrans  by  rail.  "  Two  years  ago,"  mourned  a  Rebel 
editor,  "our  armies  at  Bowling-green,  Kentucky,  threat- 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  247 

ened  Cairo,  Illinois;  we  are  now  fighting  to  defend 
Atlanta,  Georgia."  Where  will  they  be  two  years  hence  ? 
I  asked. 

Good  news  was  meanwhile  brought  to  us  from  every 
quarter.  On  the  5th  of  October  we  heard  that  Eosecrans 
had  turned  upon  the  victorious  Bragg  and  whipped  him 
soundly.  This  statement  was  confirmed  by  a  Rebel  paper 
of  the  fourth  instant,  exchanged  on  our  picket  line.  And 
as  if  to  fill  our  cup  of  cheer  to  the  brim,  we  heard  from  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  that  Meade  was  below  the  Eapidan 
and  advancing  rapidly  on  Eichmond ;  and  there  was  a  wild 
report  that  the  Eebels  were  evacuating  Virginia.  The  air 
was  filled  with  rumors,  and  we  believed  what  we  hoped  to 
be  true.  Eosecrans  was  advancing  east  and  south  from 
Tennessee ;  Meade  was  moving  towards  Eichmond,  the 
seat  of  Eebel  power;  Grant  was  clearing  away  obstruc 
tions  on  the  Mississippi,  —  and  all  this,  while  we  were 
chafing  at  our  inability  to  do  anything  before  Charleston. 

This  was  the  time  when  a  private  soldier  presented 
General  Gillmore  with  an  American  eagle,  —  the  same 
bird,  a  counterfeit  presentment  of  which  adorns  our  colors 
and  our  coins.  The  bird  that  swooped  over  the  headquar 
ters  of  our  chieftain  was  a  living  bird,  a  Southern  eagle 
caught  in  its  nest  by  a  Yankee  soldier,  by  whom  it  was 
presented  to  Gillmore  on  the  day  he  received  his  promo 
tion  ;  but  whether  to  indicate  that  the  Southern  eagle  had 
been  caged,  or  that  the  American  eagle  might  find  its  most 
appropriate  perch  on  Morris  Island,  the  giver  did  not  in 
dicate.  Speeches  were  made  at  the  presentation.  The 
presence  of  the  eagle  and  of  Gillmore  were  in  some  man 
ner  inseparably  connected  in  the  minds  of  the  speakers  as 
they  delivered  their  spread-eagle  orations.  Unconscious  ot 
the  inevitable  accompaniment  of  American  presentations, 
the  noble  bird  stood  on  the  edge  of  a  full  water-bucket 


248  A  WAR  DIARY. 

devouring  chickens  and  fish,  oblivious  of  its  own  heroic 
nature,  and  as  stupidly  indifferent  to  the  flights  of  rhetoric 
as  were  the  poor  "  contrabands  "  who  gazed  open-inouthed 
at  the  singular  spectacle,  listening  to  the  eloquence  of 
volunteer  generals  and  colonels  as  it  soared  around  the 
head  of  Gillmore,  with  praise  and  adulation  scarce  lower 
than  an  eagle's  flight. 

Whether  this  occasion  was  deemed  a  fitting  one  for  a 
Eebel  demonstration,  or  whether  it  was  a  happy  coinci 
dence,  we  may  never  know ;  but  the  opportunity  was  taken 
to  make  a  daring  attack  on  the  brave  old  battle-ship,  the 
"New  Ironsides."  In  front  of  all  the  fleet  this  vessel 
serenely  lay  at  her  anchorage  on  the  night  of  the  5th  of 
October.  No  picket-boats  were  in  advance,  none  but  the 
ordinary  watch  upon  her  decks.  The  bells  had  sounded 
the  hour  of  midnight,  when  suddenly  from  the  gloom  the 
look-out  descried  a  strange-looking  craft  submerged  almost 
to  the  water's  edge.  A  hail  was  instantly  answered  by  a 
volley  of  musketry.  The  officer  of  the  deck  fell,  fatally 
wounded.  The  marines  returned  the  fire,  but  without 
avail.  On  came  the  mysterious  float,  until  she  touched  the 
iron  walls  of  the  ship,  when  there  came  a  crash,  a  jar  so 
heavy  and  severe  that  our  men  were  thrown  violently  to 
the  deck,  their  limbs  broken  by  the  fall.  It  was  apparent 
to  all  that  the  mysterious  stranger  was  a  torpedo  boat  at 
tempting  to  destroy  the  "Ironsides."  Officers  and  men, 
peering  out  in  the  darkness,  saw  nothing,  heard  only  the 
swashing  of  the  tide  breaking  against  the  ship.  In  vain 
was  the  search ;  the  explosion  of  the  torpedo  had  dashed 
its  frail  conveyance  to  atoms  !  It  took  but  a  moment  for 
the  Federal  sailors  to  lower  their  boats,  and  in  a  glance  to 
discover  that  the  noble  ship  had  shaken  off  this  attack 
under  her  water-line  as  disdainfully  as  she  had  withstood 
all  attempts  to  pierce  her  deck  or  her  sides  by  the  most 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  249 

powerful  bolts  from  the  guns  of  Sumter  and  Wagner.  But 
the  Rebel  crew,  the  daring  fellows  who  had  made  this 
attack,  where  were  they  ?  The  first  one  caught  was  a  cer 
tain  Glassell,  formerly  a  lieutenant  in  our  navy ;  he  was 
directing  the  torpedo,  and  had  jumped  or  was  blown  over 
board  when  the  shock  came.  The  effect  on  the  "  Iron 
sides  "  was  very  severe  ;  her  timbers  were  strained,  and  she 
showed  signs  of  leaking,  though  not  enough  to  take  her 
from  her  station.  Had  this  missile  struck  her  fore  or  aft 
her  armor,  she  would  have  sunk  at  her  moorings ;  and,  as 
it  was,  her  heavy  beams  were  crushed.  The  firing  of  mus 
ketry  was  heard  at  our  camps  on  Morris  Island,  and  the 
alarm  was  sounded.  Drummers  beat  the  long  roll ;  armed 
men  sprang  hastily  from  their  blanket  beds  and  formed  in 
ranks  or  rushed  to  their  posts  by  the  guns.  What  was  it  ? 
None  knew,  though  all  inquired,  and  stared  and  wondered, 
—  then  tumbled  back  to  bed  again  to  a  sounder  slumber 
than  before. 

This  daring  attack  caused  much  uneasiness  among  our 
officers.  If  men  would  do  and  dare  so  much,  why  not  do 
more  with  less  hazard  ?  Why  not  attempt  our  islands  ? 
That  Gillmore  believed  they  would,  and  that  General 
Vogdes  coincided  (for  he  had  seen  movements  of  the 
enemy  from  which  he  inferred  mysterious  purposes),  I 
knew  on  the  12th  of  October,  when  word  came  to  me  from 
Vogdes  that  the  hour  had  come ;  that  the  enemy  had  been 
seen  moving  bodies  of  infantry  and  artillery  towards  the 
southern  end  of  James  Island ;  and  that  he  expected  an 
attack  that  night.  So  did  Gillmore,  and  directed  me  to 
place  a  boom  of  logs  in  Folly  River  to  obstruct  the  enemy's 
boats.  Before  twelve  at  night  I  had  given  the  requisite 
orders,  and  had  taken  proper  measures  for  safety.  At 
midnight  there  were  no  sounds  at  the  front,  nothing  but 
the  roaring  waves  and  the  thunder  of  heavy  guns  from  the 


250  A  WAR  DIAKY. 

forts.  Morning  came,  and  with  it  more  reports  of  Eebel 
concentration  on  the  Stono.  Was  there  no  fire  in  all  this 
smoke  ?  We  must  not  be  caught  napping.  Brave  Captain 
Balch  decided  to  take  the  "  Pawnee  "  up  the  river  and  see 
what  the  enemy  was  preparing  for  us.  Meanwhile  all 
went  on  as  usual  in  my  front.  The  Eebel  pickets  indulged 
in  courteous  and  friendly  pleasantries  with  mine.  At  times 
they  were  even  jocose  :  "  If  you  are  going  to  attack  us,  you 
better  hurry  up ;  we  have  got  a  crowd  of  negroes  digging, 
and  an  additional  division  of  Southern  troops  from  the 
Army  of  Virginia  is  in  Charleston,"  they  shouted  over  to 
us  one  day.  Another  exchange  of  newspapers  took  place. 
I  got  a  Charleston  paper  of  the  eighth,  in  which  subscrip 
tions  were  solicited  for  the  brave  men  who  attempted  to 
destroy  the  "  Ironsides "  with  their  torpedo  boat,  and  who, 
it  was  admitted,  were  only  partly  successful. 

In  order  to  talk  matters  over  with  Captain  Balch,  I  in 
vited  him  to  dine  with  me.  He  brought  with  him  Captain 
Buchanan  of  the  marines. 

It  ill  becomes  me  to  boast  of  the  successor  of  my  previous 
cook.  I  will  rather  speak  of  the  old-time  memories  revived 
during  this  visit ;  for  was  not  Captain  Buchanan  with  us 
in  Mexico  during  the  war,  with  the  detachment  of  marines 
that  inarched  to  the  capital  under  Major  Dulaney  ?  Of 
course  the  captain  knew  my  old  regiment  well,  and  could 
repeat  the  names  of  nearly  all  the  officers  in  it.  Ah,  what 
a  grand  time  I  had  revelling  in  t*he  past !  So  long  it  was 
since  I  had  talked  with  any  one  of  that  campaign,  so  much 
a  thing  of  the  past  had  it  become,  that  it  remained  with 
me  as  .the  memory  of  a  gorgeous  painting  seen  long  ago, 
but  when'  or  where  I  could  not  tell ;  nor  sure,  even,  was  I 
that  ever  I  had  seen  it  at  all,  so  misty  was  the  outline  in  my 
mind.  Oh,  that  city  of  the  Aztecs  !  It  is  true,  then,  that 
Cannette  was  the  charming  actress ;  and  Tapia,  the  fairy- 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  251 

like  danseuse  !  Ah,  Cannette,  —  the  saint,  the  virgin,  in 
the  play,  tempted  by  a  holy  padre,  and  descending  with 
him  to  the  realms  of  Hades,  —  how  archly  you  smiled 
upon  us,  the  invaders  of  your  country  and  your  domain, 
when  we  visited  you  behind  the  scenes,  with  the  smoke  of 
your  mimic  hell  still  curling  around  your  head !  Was  not 
this  also  true  ?  Yes,  the  captain  remembered  it.  And 
Old  Barnes,  too,  the  gentlemanly  gambler  whom  we  paid 
for  good  suppers  at  his  table  with  the  little  game, — 
obliging  Barnes,  who  cashed  our  pay  accounts  in  advance, 
and  bagged  the  amount  in  so  gentlemanly  a  manner  with 
his  little  pack, —  Old  Barnes,  who  so  feelingly  advised  the 
young  officers  never  to  touch  the  cards,  because  luck  would 
be  ever  against  them,  —  Old  Barnes,  too,  was  not  a  myth, 
for  had  not  the  captain  seen  him  within  three  years  at 
Vera  Cruz,  the  owner  of  a  fine  hacienda,  where  he  was 
growing  rich  by  stock-raising  ?  And  the  Passeo  was  real, 
and  the  Aleineda,  and  the  beautiful  girls  with  fine  figures, 
—  the  loves  !  And  it  was  true  that  General  Harney  hung 
thirty  of  our  deserters  at  a  time,  and  Twiggs  fifteen  men 
who  had  fought  against  us  and  were  captured  at  the  battle 
of  Churubusco.  Mexico,  —  a  country  and  climate  the  finest 
in  the  world,  but  cursed  with  a  people  and  a  government 
the  poorest,  —  how  vividly  did  its  long-forgotten  scenes 
clothe  themselves  in  the  bright  robes  of  reality !  The 
romance  of  our  trip  to  Molino  Blanco;  the  beautiful 
Miss  -  — ,  and  the  hours  of  charming  entertainment  at 
her  father's  house  in  the  city  of  Mexico;  the  march  to 
Vera  Cruz,  and  the  presence  of  this  family  with  us  at 
nightly  camps,  in  their  departure  from  the  country  to  find 
a  securer  home  ;  their  more  than  loving  care  when  one  day 
on  the  road  I  fell  grievously  wounded,  —  all  this  I  told. 
And  then  we  talked  of  times  still  longer  past ;  of  my  old 
regiment,  the  Mounted  Rifles,  and  my  first  introduction 


252  A  WAR  DIARY. 

to  it  at  Jefferson  Barracks  in  Missouri,  in  1846  ;  of  its 
political  organization,  by  President  Polk  (before  the  days 
of  civil-service  reform),  from  the  Democratic  fold.  There 

was  Stephe  T r,  a  captain  from  Arkansas,  who  could 

boast   of  tavern   brawls   and  knock-down   arguments,  — 

Stephe  T r,  who  throve  on  whiskey  and  double-jointed 

elbows ;  an  angel  of  Democracy,  who  began  his  career  in 
the  United  States  Mounted  Riflemen  at  the  discreet  age 

of  forty,  —  yes,  maudlin,  swearing,  tearing  Stephe  T r, 

you  were  one  of  them.  And  so,  too,  was  Joe  B — k — s, 
whilom  Democratic  sheriff  of  Illinois ;  Captain  Joe  of  the 
Rifles,  whose  fame  in  pursuit  of  Mormons,  when  that  sect 
inhabited  his  State,  had  given  him  such  notoriety  that  he 
claimed  and  received  a  captaincy  in  the  regular  army  by  vir 
tue  of  the  possession  of  much  knowledge  of  horse-thieves 
and  many  captures  of  the  same,  — a  wily,  deceitful,  unprin 
cipled  scamp,  apt  to  know-  and  discover  that  which  was  to 
himself  of  kin,  was  Captain  Joe.  There,  too,  were  Cap 
tain  P e  from  Kentucky,  once  a  man  of  fine  mental 

powers,  but  at  last,  wrecked  and  besotted,  he  fell  in  a 
duel ;  and  C — r — n,  a  captain  (afterwards  a  Eebel  general), 
son  of  the  good  and  loyal  Senator  from  Kentucky,  — 
whiskey  was  his  bane ;  N — w — n,  a  lawyer  from  Ohio, 
burnt  out  with  whiskey,  —  ever  in  pursuit  of  some 
thing  fresh  from  the  sea,  he  died  in  search  of  oysters  in 

Texas ;    Captain ,  a  noted  gambler  from  Cincinnati, 

murdered  in  Texas  for  his  money ;  L g  (a  major-gen 
eral  in  the  Southern  army,  and  afterwards  high  in  rank  in 
the  Egyptian  army),  a  captain  in  the  Rifles,  vivacious, 
brave,  and  quarrelsome ;  T — y — r,  who  lived  on  army 

rations,  and  lunched  on  pork  and  hard   bread ;    F k 

R 1,  —  poor  F k  !  he  struggled  with  rum,  and  fell ; 

and  so  did  H s,  and  M y.      Of  such  as  some  of 

these,  graduates  from  schools  of  political  intrigue  in  their 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  253 

most  depraved  forms,  was  the  Mounted  Eifle  regiment  com 
posed  in  1846.  Into  this  innocent  fold,  as  brevet  second 
lieutenants,  graduates  from  the  military  academy,  where 
chivalric  and  honorable  sentiments  were  enforced,  were 
allowed  to  enter.  I  was  the  ninth  in  order  awaiting  pro 
motion.  If  four  years  of  West  Point  life  and  instruction 
were  required  to  enable  a  young  graduate  of  twenty-two 
to  be  a  second  lieutenant  by  brevet  in  the  army  of  the 
United  States,  what  requirement  should  be  exacted,  to 
entitle  to  be  captains,  majors,  and  colonels,  men  of  forty 
who  have  graduated  from  political  brothels  ? 

But  I  am  wandering  away  into  the  past,  and  using 
harsh  language  of  many  whose  hearts  are  cold  in  the 
dust. 


254  A  WAR  DIARY. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

SEA  ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON    (continued). 

"  HTVAKE  care ! "  shouted  the  careful  watchman  at  Cum- 
•••  ming's  Point,  as  a  small  puff  of  white  smoke  issued 
from  the  muzzle  of  a  hostile  gun ;  and  almost  before  a  man 
could  take  in  the  meaning  of  the  words  a  crash  came  over 
head,  as  if  earth,  air,  and  sea  impressed  their  significance 
upon  him.  Yet  so  reckless  had  our  men  become  on  Cum- 
ming's  Point,  that  they  would  not  protect  themselves  by 
bomb-proof  or  traverse,  but  out  of  mere  bravado  ran  for 
luck,  the  loss  of  which  was  the  loss  of  life.  A  fragment 
of  a  shell  tears  such  an  ugly  hole  in  a  man's  body  that  life 
cannot  stay.  If  the  men  could  have  seen  what  inevita 
bly  came  after  in  hospitals,  where  weakness  and  suffering 
took  all  the  nerve  and  manhood  out  of  them,  and  they 
moaned  like  children,  and  thought  of  home  and  tender 
care,  —  care  that  was  not  to  be  found  in  the  circuit  of 
that  sandy  island,  —  they  would  have  been  more  prudent, 
while  no  less  brave. 

Eumors  were  again  frequent  that  the  Admiral  intended 
to  go  into  Charleston  Harbor,  and  that  he  had  written  to 
the  Navy  Department  that  he  should  soon  have  eight  or 
nine  new  monitors,  and  that  though  he  might  lose  half  of 
them  he  would  make  the  attempt.  Gillmore  and  Dahl- 
gren  were  sent  to  capture  the  city  of  Charleston.  By  the 
aid  of  the  navy  the  former  had  spoiled  the  beauty  of  Sum- 
ter,  occupied  the  whole  of  Morris  Island,  and  was  prac- 


SEA   ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  255 

tising  on  the  church  spires  of  the  city.  This  was  all  that 
Gillmore  could  do;  and  the  Admiral  had  done  all  he  could 
in  aiding  and  abetting  it.  Neither  could  have  done  what 
he  had  without  the  aid  of  the  other ;  but  neither  had  done 
what  was  expected  of  him,  and  what  he  had  hoped  to  do. 
Nor  had  Gillmore,  even  with  naval  aid,  done  what  he  de 
clared  he  would  do,  as  a  preliminary  to  enable  the  Admiral 
to  run  into  the  harbor ;  for  Sumter  was  not  silenced,  —  it 
was  as  formidable  as  ever,  if  not  more  so.  It  would  seem 
that  to  save  General  Gillmore's  reputation  a  pack-horse 
was  needed,  and  that  that  animal  was  found  in  Admiral 
Dahlgren.  Under  the  heading  of  letters  from  "  our  special 
correspondent,"  there  went  out  from  Morris  Island  many 
misrepresentations  about  the  navy,  —  false  statements, 
revised  and  corrected,  to  prejudice  the  public.  Day  by  day 
these  stories  were  circulated  in  Northern  newspapers  ;  day 
by  day  they  grew  meaner  and  more  contemptible.  If  the 
Admiral  had  allowed  a  swarm  of  reporters  to  find  refuge 
on  board  the  ships  to  malign  and  denounce  the  operations 
of  the  army,  our  commander  would  have  been  keenly  alive 
to  the  ownership  of  the  gored  ox.  Sumter  was  not  reduced ; 
its  beauty  was  destroyed,  to  be  sure,  but  its  garrison  was 
uninjured,  —  the  sunset  gun  was  fired  every  evening. 

Who  that  has  tasted  the  applause  of  the  multitude  can 
bear  to  give  a  sip  of  the  cup  to  another  ?  Certainly  Gen 
eral  Gillmore  had  but  little  inclination  to  do  this:  he 
was  rather  enraged  with  those  who  seemed  to  him  to  be 
attacking  his  fame.  "  Am  I  to  be  stripped  of  everything? " 
he  said.  "  Here,  now,  is  an  engineer  officer  asserting  that 
to  him  is  due  all  the  credit  for  planning  and  building  my 
Swamp  Angel  battery ;  and  the  paper  in  which  his  letter 
is  printed  contains  at  least  five  distinct  falsehoods  about 
the  way  it  was  built  and  the  money  it  cost."  I  agreed  with 
Gillmore  that  this  effort  was  an  unworthy  one,  a  positive 


256  A  WAR  DIARY. 

case  of  petty  larceny ;  for  the  battery  in  its  grand  concep 
tion  and  in  its  unimportant  achievement  was  a  child  of  his 
own.  And  it  was  as  wrong,  as  unprincipled  and  ungen 
erous,  for  the  engineer  officer  to  try  to  strip  Gillmore  of 
the  glory  of  it,  as  it  was  for  any  one  to  endeavor  to  keep 
the  fires  of  his  fame  aglow  by  making  an  auto-da-fe  of  his 
naval  brother. 

This  senseless  and  bitter  feud  among  those  who  ought  to 
have  sacrificed  all  personal  feeling  for  the  greater  good  of 
their  country,  paralyzed  our  efforts.  "  It 's  not  night  yet ! " 
shouted  that  gruff  soldier,  General  Sumner,  in  answer  to 
my  joyous  exclamations  that  we  had  repulsed  the  enemy; 
as  I  met  him  at  the  head  of  his  glorious  corps  coming  up 
in  our  rear  upon  the  bloody  field  of  Antietam,  — "  It 's 
not  night  yet ! "  he  shouted  again,  as  forward  in  order  of 
battle,  with  his  lines  but  fifty  feet  apart  and  swaying  with 
the  uneven  ground,  he  dashed  up  against  the  wood  where 
stood  the  Dunker  church,  and  where,  too,  the  enemy  was 
at  bay.  Alas!  it  was  an  eternal,  a  bloody,  and  an  ever 
lasting  night  for  hundreds  on  hundreds  of  those  poor  fel 
lows,  as  grape,  canister,  and  musketry  tore  huge  rents  and 
left  fearful  openings,  where  the  life  went  out  of  that  brave 
body  of  men.  Not  "night  yet"  then,  nor  was  it  night 
with  us  at  Folly  Island.  There  was  work  to  do  from  day  to 
day ;  and  when  the  sun  sank  low  in  the  horizon,  touching 
with  roseate  hues  the  gathering  clouds,  then  came  the 
Lour  to  watch  and  wait  for  the  morrow,  with  the  anxious 
solicitude  with  which  a  sick  mother  might  look  upon  her 
infant  child. 

But  we  were  not  alone  in  our  unhappiness  and  despond 
ency.  Our  enemy  had  heard  bad  news,  and  his  adversity 
was  our  joy.  At  my  picket  station,  when  exchange  of 
papers  was  proposed,  the  reply  from  the  Eebel  sentinel 
was,  "We  have  no  papers,"  while  at  the  same  time  a  group 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  257 

of  Rebel  soldiers  further  to  the  rear  listened  eagerly  to 
what  a  comrade  read  from  one.  Favors,  however,  they 
were  willing  to  receive.  They  wanted  coffee  ;  but  our  men 
had  none  to  spare,  and  were  chaffed  by  two  squadrons  of 
mounted  and  dismounted  Eebel  cavalry  who  appeared  at 
the  little  creek  which  separates  Kiowah  from  Cole's  Island. 
"  Why  don't  you  go  up  and  help  Meade  ?  "  they  asked,  in 
a  friendly  but  impertinent  tone.  What  was  not  revealed 
at  the  picket  station  became  clear  to  me  the  next  day. 
Jefferson  Davis  had  been  making  a  speech  to  his  troops 
at  Chattanooga,  telling  them  truths  he  would  fain  conceal 
from  us,  —  unpalatable  facts,  I  believed,  or  the  usual  cour 
tesy  of  the  picket  station  would  have  been  displayed.  I 
learned  this  from  two  deserters  from  the  enemy's  works  at 
Secessionville,  who  brought  in  a  paper  of  the  21st  of  Octo 
ber,  and  gave  us  much  valuable  information  besides.  They 
told  me  that  the  lower  tier  of  casemates  in  Sumter,  —  those 
which  look  towards  the  north  and  could  not  be  seen  in  our 
land  or  water  operations,  —  were  entirely  uninjured  by  the 
bombardment ;  that  the  numbers  and  works  of  the  enemy 
consisted  of  ten  thousand  men  on  James  Island,  and  a  new 
line  of  fortifications  to  protect  the  rear  of  the  city ;  and 
they  also  gave  an  intelligent  enumeration  of  the  number 
of  guns  in  and  around  the  city  of  Charleston. 

Compare  this  successful  effort  of  the  enemy  to  shut  us 
out  of  the  harbor  to  ours  at  an  early  period  of  the  war  to 
shut  him  in,  when  forty-eight  old  whalers,  laden  with  stone, 
were  towed  from  the  North  to  Charleston  bar  and  sunk 
there,  to  close,  as  it  was  believed,  forever  the  port  of  that 
city  of  treason.  The  captain  of  the  steamer  "  Delaware," 
running  between  the  Sea  Islands  and  Hilton  Head,  a  mas 
ter  of  one  of  those  vessels,  told  me  the  story  of  the  deed, 
and  speculated  on  its  utter  failure.  "We  towed  to  the 
bar,"  said  the  captain,  "a  long  line  of  vessels.  There 

17 


258  A   WAR  DIARY. 

[pointing  to  the  position  on  the  chart]  they  were  scuttled 
and  sunk.  But  they  did  not  sink  fairly,  turning  over  on 
their  sides ;  and  so  we  left  them  to  find  sandy  graves.  They 
did  not  lie  quietly,  though  ;  the  waves  beat  upon  them,  and 
the  sea  swashed  over  them,  until  they  were  broken  up  into 
fragments  and  tossed  anywhere  and  everywhere  along  the 
coast.  Nor  did  the  stone  cargoes  offer  any  real  impedi 
ment.  The  waters  of  Ashley  and  of  Cooper  rivers  poured 
down  in  torrents,  and  soon  wore  a  new  channel,  which  in 
time,  as  the  ships  broke  up,  became  merged  in  the  old  one. 
Nothing  of  the  old  stone  fleet  remains ;  the  masts  and 
cordage  floated  to  the  shore,  and  furnished  oakum  for  the 
Eebel  rams.  Out  of  this  scheme  Gideon  Wells  could  not 
claim  profit  to  the  United  States ;  and  the  loss  has  never 
appeared  in  his  report." 

This  story  of  the  stone  fleet  I  listened  to  on  a  tedious 
passage  within  this  department  (where  steamers,  like  verbs, 
are  both  irregular  and  defective)  to  Hilton  Head,  where  I 
arrived  at  nine  at  night,  a  day's  journey,  arid  was  kindly 
received  by  Captain  Gadsden,  of  the  "  Arago."  He  pro 
vided  me  with  a  comfortable  room  on  his  ship  while  I 
was  awaiting  impatiently  the  morning  of  the  twenty- 
seventh,  —  the  day  and  hour  when  for  a  brief  period  I  was 
to  overcome  that  barrier  which  separated  from  home  so 
many  yearning  hearts.  The  day  fixed  at  this  island  for 
an  ocean  steamer's  departure  for  New  York  was  marked 
by  unusual  excitement.  Soldiers  with  longing  eyes,  quar 
termasters  bustling  and  consequential,  stevedores  hurrying 
and  shouting,  the  sick  on  the  steamer  "  Cosmopolitan  "  en 
route  to  Florida  (a  healthy  place  wherein  to  save  life  or 
prevent  permanent  disability),  barrels  of  beef  and  boxes  of 
hard  bread,  —  all  these  met  my  gaze  as  the  "  Arago  "  left 
behind  the  Department  of  the  South. 

We  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  13th  of  October,  where 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  259 

the  most  notable  thing  I  saw  was  a  New  York  "  Herald  " 
but  fifteen  minutes  old.  By  November  1  I  was  at  home ; 
and  on  the  twentieth  of  the  same  month  sailed  again  from 
New  York,  arriving  at  Hilton  Head  on  the  twenty-fourth, 
whence  on  the  steamer  "  Columbia/'  formerly  a  block 
ade  runner,  I  reached  Folly  Island  (after  being  out  all 
night  in  a  fog)  on  the  25th  of  November  at  nine  A.  M.,  and 
entered  my  tent  with  a  feeling  of  depression  and  discom 
fort  as  much  below  the  plane  of  my  average  state  as 
thoughts  of  home  and  of  going  there  had  lifted  me  above 
it.  Ah,  how  little  we  know  of  ourselves,  or  of  what  will 
give  us  content  and  rest !  How  we  long  for  we  know  not 
what,  and  wrestle  with  disquiet  and  unrest,  and  will  not 
be  satisfied  !  I  went  resolutely  to  my  work,  however,  shut 
out  thought  and  memory,  and  in  the  living  present  found 
content. 

I  especially  found  consolation  in  a  paper  brought  in 
from  my  picket  station,  wherein  I  saw  that  Grant  had  wiped 
out  our  disaster  at  the  West  in  a  grand  victory  at  Chicka- 
mauga,  and  read  confessions  that  the  part  of  the  city  of 
Charleston  into  which  our  shells  had  fallen  had  been  made 
uninhabitable ;  that  the  main  hotels  in  the  city  had  been 
abandoned,  and  that  stores  and  offices  were  to  be  moved 
to  other  and  safer  parts  of  the  city.  "  Well,"  I  thought,  as 
the  cold  and  rain  chilled  me  under  a  bit  of  canvas  while 
I  sat  reading  this  intelligence,  as  my  Dutch  cook,  too,  was 
driving  me  distracted  with  his  unsavory  messes  and  his 
more  unsavory  person,  — "  well,  it  is  some  consolation  to 
know  that  those  who  make  us  so  uncomfortable  are  not 
quite  happy  themselves." 

At  Legareville,  opposite  my  picket  stations  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Stono,  I  found  what  was  once  a  somewhat 
pretentious  line  of  houses,  conspicuously  white,  and  in 
marked  contrast  with  the  sea  of  surrounding  foliage. 


260  A  WAR  DIARY. 

These  houses,  occupied  alternately  by  Eebel  and  Yankee 
troops,  had  been  subjected  to  a  usage  which  would  have 
wrecked  more  solid  buildings.  Windows  had  been  broken, 
door-knobs  taken  away,  furniture  destroyed.  In  the  halls 
and  churches  the  seats  had  been  torn  out,  and  the  walls 
disfigured  with  Eebel  or  Yankee  taunts,  with  threats  of 
impending  vengeance  allegorically  expressed.  Jefferson 
Davis  hanging  on  the  lyric  apple-tree,  rudely  sketched 
by  the  Yankee  picket,  aroused  the  ire  of  the  alternating 
Eebel  occupant,  who  wrote  underneath  in  furious  gas 
conade,  "  The  last  man  will  die  ! "  and  so  forth ;  to  which 
our  Yankee  in  his  turn  of  occupancy  retorted,  "  Gas ! " 
During  the  day  my  troops  on  this  advance  picket  station 
occupied  the  houses,  but  at  night  they  retired  to  a  single 
habitation  near  the  marsh,  where  they  had  intrenched 
themselves  in  the  most  improved  style  of  modern  engi 
neering  for  converting  houses  into  castles.  Amidst  the 
strange  wreck  and  ruin  of  this  Southern  summer  retreat, 
on  the  30th  day  of  November,  1863,  roses  were  blooming 
in  all  the  luxury  of  leaf  and  flower,  to  waste  their  sweet 
ness  where  once  their  fragrance  had  been  so  welcome.  It 
was  here  that  the  best-known  people  of  South  Carolina 
had  lived.  And  here,  too,  were  created  and  organized 
plans  for  a  rupture  of  this  government  which  had  now 
brought  its  doom  upon  the  very  place  itself.  My  pilot,  a 
refugee  from  Beaufort,  remembered  these  original  seces 
sion  discussions  at  Legareville.  He  remembered  that 
they  always  turned  upon  the  vital  question,  Would  the 
Yankees  fight  ?  And  he  further  recalled  that  but  rarely 
was  any  other  answer  made  to  this  inquiry  than  that 
they  would  not,  —  though  sometimes  this  was  denied,  and 
warnings  were  given  that  if  the  South  continued  her  course 
the  Yankees'  would  pour  into  and  over  South  Carolina, 
and  blot  out  her  lines  as  a  sovereign  and  independent 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  261 

State.  But  this  sentiment  or  opinion  was  not  received 
with  favor;  and  so  the  deluded  people  were  led  on  to 
their  destruction. 

December  came,  and  with  it  the  same  duties,  the  same 
eternal  roar  of  surf,  the  same  continuous  boom  of  artillery. 
Once  more  we  had  our  usual  exchange  from  the  picket 
line.  One  of  my  officers,  disguised  as  a  private,  visited  the 
Rebel  guard,  from  which  a  private  soldier  had  been  sent 
to  the  rear  to  give  warning  of  the  approach  of  their  officers. 
A  gift  of  cheese  opened  the  way  to  a  most  friendly  con 
ference,  in  which  the  guard  told  all  they  knew.  The  sol 
diers  were  discouraged,  they  said,  and  so  were  the  people, 
—  both  tired  of  the  war ;  the  citizens  were  moving  out  of 
Charleston  into  the  country ;  the  late  explosion  in  Sumter 
was  caused  by  trifling  with  an  unexploded  shell  from  Yan 
kee  batteries,  by  which  four  men  were  killed  and  two  were 
wounded.  It  was  of  no  use,  they  said,  for  us  to  make  sig 
nals  to  them  in  the  daytime,  for  if  we  did,  and  were  seen, 
they  were  watched  all  night ;  their  officers  distrusted  them, 
and  had  given  them  strict  orders  not  to  go  on  the  bridge 
which  separated  the  Rebel  from  the  Yankee  post ;  one  of 
their  men  was  now  confined  in  the  guard -house  for  "talking 
with  the  Yankees."  How  many  troops  we  had,  and  where, 
and  in  what  direction  Gillmore's  headquarters  were,  they 
asked,  but  were  not  informed.  The  friendly  chat  closed 
with  a  suspicion  that  after  all  Yankee  cheese  had  not 
caught  a  Eebel  rat. 

Efforts  by  the  civil  department  to  manage  the  military 
were  most  amusing  anywhere,  but  especially  so  when  some 
emissary  of  the  Government  made  his  habitation  among 
us,  and  in  the  plenitude  of  his  brief  power  attempted  to 
ignore  our  authority.  At  my  post  was  a  man  calling  him 
self  Supervising  Special  Agent  of  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment,  whose  sphere  of  duty  it  was  to  add  to  the  treasures 


262  A  WAR  DIARY. 

of  the  Treasury  by  enforcing  taxes  upon  traders  and  look 
ing  after  captured  and  abandoned  property.  Here  too, 
with  my  permission,  was  a  sutler's  store  for  supplying  the 
troops.  The  special  agent,  being  wroth  with  the  sutler, 
absolutely  ordered  my  provost-marshal  to  close  up  the  sut 
ler's  shop.  I  in  turn  ordered  the  provost  to  throw  the 
special  agent  into  the  sea  if  necessary,  but  not  to  interfere 
with  the  sutler.  Not  that  I  was  desirous  of  aiding  the 
sutler,  —  a  Jew  accused  of  violating  Treasury  laws  in  the 
mode  in  which  his  goods  were  transferred  to  this  dis 
trict,  —  but  because  I  would  not  recognize  orders  delivered 
to  my  subordinate  by  a  Treasury  agent.  But  when  the 
agent,  communicating  with  the  military  head,  made  known 
the  Jew's  violations  of  law,  I  closed  his  store,  turned  a  deaf 
ear  to  his  cries,  and  listened  unmoved  to  the  summing  up 
of  his  gains  and  losses  as  he  hugged  himself  with  delight 
that  the  forfeited  goods  were  not  his,  but  another's ;  that 
in  all  and  after  all  he,  the  fawning  Shylock,  had  made 
"  much  moneys."  But  this  was  not  the  end.  The  schem 
ing  Jew  held  close  relations  with  a  power  at  court,  a  cer 
tain  Post-master  General ;  who,  when  he  heard  the  course 
which  things  had  taken  with  the  Jew,  so  used  his  influence 
that  the  fellow  gained  a  most  complete  triumph  over  all 
his  adversaries,  and  left  me  wondering  what  relation  could 
exist  between  this  ugly  dwarf  and  an  officer  of  our  Cabinet, 
that  not  only  should  the  Jew's  confiscated  goods  be  re 
turned,  but  that,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  me,  the  right 
honorable  P.  M.  G.  should  commend  the  fellow  to  my  con 
sideration!  Was  it  a  political  affinity;  was  the  Jew  a 
leader  in  some  American  Jerusalem,  and  did  he  bring  a  host 
of  Israelites  to  the  polls  for  the  advantage  of  the  Honorable 
Post-master  General  ? 

0  Jerusalem  !  Jerusalem !    But  it  is  a  pleasure  to  turn 
from  the  city  of  Judea  to  the  dignity  of  action  within  the 


SEA   ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  263 

Department  of  the  South  ;  to  be  aroused  before  the  dawn 
on  Christmas  morning  with  the  hurried  message,  "Sir, 
there  is  an  affair  at  Legareville ;  the  gunboats  are  heavily 
engaged,  and  the  'Marblehead'  has  dropped  down  out  of 
range ! "  My  sleep  had  been  so  profound  —  for  I  had 
gone  late  to  bed  —  that  there  was  needed  a  moment's 
chase  for  my  scattered  senses,  a  moment's  struggle  to 
grapple  with  and  master  my  faculties  of  perception,  will, 
and  judgment;  and  then  I  hurried,  half  dressed,  to  my 
saddle,  galloped  to  the  wharf,  boarded  the  old  ferry-boat 
"  Philadelphia,"  and  was  speedily  on  my  way  to  this  out 
post.  In  the  stream  I  passed  the  "  Pawnee,"  covered  with 
smoke,  as  Captain  Balch  fired  away  like  a  human  Vesu 
vius  in  the  direction  (though  to  the  rear)  of  my  garrison 
at  Legareville,  at  something  or  somebody  concealed  by  the 
trees  on  the  river's  edge.  Further  up  the  river,  off  the 
town,  lay  the  " Marblehead,"  a  tender  to  the  "Pawnee," 
blazing  away  with  a  will,  while  a  mortar  schooner  attached 
to  Captain  Balch's  small  fleet  was  under  way. 

It  was  my  duty,  of  course,  to  land  at  the  festive  town, 
care  for  my  garrison  if  not  already  captured,  and  do  what 
ever  I  could  in  any  emergency.  Before  I  reached  the 
troops,  fire  from  the  Eebel  guns  had  materially  slackened, 
though  the  "  Pawnee  "  arid  "  Marblehead,"  unable  to  recover 
suddenly  from  the  excitement  of  the  fight,  were  plumping 
huge  shots  into  the  wood.  I  jumped  ashore  upon  the  rem 
nant  of  a  wharf,  found  the  garrison  all  right,  and  was  off 
again,  boarding  the  "  Marblehead."  Three  of  her  crew  had 
been  killed  and  three  desperately  wounded,  and  there  were 
twenty-four  shot-holes  in  her  sides.  The  suddenness  of 
this  Eebel  attack  was  startling.  Neither  the  land  forces 
nor  the  water  forces  suspected  that  behind  the  thick  foliage 
which  lined  the  right  bank  of  the  Stono  huge  guns  had 
been  transported  and  placed  in  battery,  rudely  to  break  the 


264  A  WAR  DIARY. 

morning  slumbers  of  those  dreaming  ships  (if  ships  do 
dream ! ),  and  send  on  this  Christmas  morning  a  Christmas 
gift  of  solid  shot  and  deadly  shell  to  their  Yankee  country 
men.  Without  one  warning  note,  the  "  Marblehead,"  while 
lying  calmly  with  her  beam  to  shore,  felt  solid  shot  crash 
ing  through  sail  and  mast  or  tearing  away  life  and  limb. 
Two,  however,  could  play  at  that  game,  as  the  Rebels 
found;  for  their  Christmas  gift  was  soon  hurled  back 
with  blessings  on  their  heads. 

Up  to  the  deck  of  the  "  Pawnee "  I  clambered  like  a 
land-lubber,  to  find  Captain  Balch  beaming  with  a  love  of 
the  thing,  making  fast  time  across  his  sanded  decks  to  get 
everything  trig  and  taut,  and  the  men  at  quarters,  with 
plenty  of  shot  and  shell,  ready  to  go  in  again.  Staying 
long  enough  to  peer  through  the  edge  of  the  wood  at  one 
or  more  Eebel  guns,  the  cause  of  all  this  rout,  I  hurried 
back  to  Folly  Island,  took  on  board  the  "Philadelphia" 
the  Seventy-fourth  Pennsylvania,  of  my  command,  followed 
them  with  another  boat,  landed  again  at  Legareville,  and 
moved  out,  with  skirmishers  in  advance,  in  the  direction 
of  the  Rebel  guns.  Fifty-five  new  shovels,  Confederate 
property,  I  sent  to  the  rear  on  my  way  to  the  battery, 
from  which  the  living  had  fled  in  a  disorderly  flight,  panic- 
stricken  by  the  havoc  wrought  by  our  great  missiles.  One 
dead  Rebel,  five  dead  horses  and  one  disabled,  many  knap 
sacks,  the  ground  ploughed  up,  huge  branches  lopped  off 
from  trees,  —  these  bore  witness  to  the  severe  punishment 
we  had  inflicted.  A  marshy  spot  prevented  the  removal 
of  the  guns ;  so  they  were  spiked  and  dismounted.  The 
"  Pawnee "  had  come  in  as  near  the  shore  as  she  could, 
that  on  the  very  tip-top  of  her  tall  mast  a  sailor  might 
hang  by  his  eyelids,  to  explore  the  surrounding  country 
and  send  down  word  that  over  a  patch  of  intervening  tim 
ber,  to  the  rear  of  the  deserted  battery,  he  had  discovered  a 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  265 

long  line  of  Eebel  infantry  which  he  reckoned  as  in  num 
ber  two  thousand.  Mounting  the  highest  point  attainable 
on  the  highest  house-top  I  could  find,  I  got  with  my  field- 
glass  an  excellent  view  of  the  situation.  Before  me  was  a 
wide  field  covered  with  high  grass,  which  concealed  effectu 
ally  our  skirmishers,  and  on  the  opposite  side  a  gate,  up  to 
which  a  tall,  fine-looking  horseman  in  Confederate  uniform, 
with  a  few  companions,  had  just  ridden.  The  leader  of  the 
skirmishers  was  standing  erect  and  gazing  earnestly,  as  it 
seemed  to  me,  into  the  very  eyes  of  the  Eebel  horseman  ; 
indeed,  the  officer  with  my  advance  and  the  Eebel  horse 
man  might,  as  they  appeared  through  my  glass,  shake 
hands  with  but  a  half-extended  arm.  Why  they  did 
not  do  so,  or  why  they  made  no  demonstration,  either 
friendly  or  hostile,  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  under 
stand,  had  not  due  allowance  been  made  for  the  tele 
scope.  With  the  eye  one  judges  of  actual  distances  by 
the  dimensions  of  actual  objects ;  the  eye  makes  the 
standard  by  which  the  judgment  unconsciously  decides. 
But  with  a  telescope,  by  which  all  objects  are  magnified, 
the  judgment  is  at  fault,  and  one  is  apt  to  make  mistakes. 
Had  the  object-glass  of  my  telescope  contained  wires  which 
measure  the  height  of  a  known  object  at  a  given  distance, 
all  difficulties  would  have  vanished ;  then  I  should  have 
appreciated  that  what  was  so  plainly  in  my  view  would  be 
unseen  by  others  with  the  naked  eye.  The  enemy,  far  out 
numbering  my  force,  were  drawn  up  in  line,  awaiting  in 
their  ambush  our  approach.  It  was  impossible  to  reach 
or  fight  them  on  even  terms,  so  I  kept  them  well  under 
observation  until  the  sun  went  down,  and  then  withdrew. 
Their  captured  guns  were  held  under  the  fire  of  our  vessels 
for  a  day  or  two,  and  then  were  brought  away  by  a  small 
force  from  the  gunboats,  which  found  a  passage  through 
the  marsh.  After  this  the  old  order  of  events  was  resumed ; 


266  A  WAR  DIARY. 

the  silent,  useless  hours  sped  on,  and  brought  us  to  the  end 
of  the  year  1863. 

My  good  friend  Captain  Gadsden  of  the  "  Arago  "  hav 
ing  sent,  with  his  compliments,  a  plump  turkey  and  six 
bottles  of  champagne,  with  Captains  Balch  and  Meade  of 
the  navy,  with  Paymaster  Lawrence  and  my  staff,  we  had 
on  New  Year's  day  in  my  mess-tent  a  royal  dinner,  — 
oysters  from  Southern  waters,  ducks  and  curlew  from 
Southern  haunts,  mince-pies  from  the  North,  and  nuts  and 
raisins  from  no  matter  where.  W,itli  such  an  abundance 
of  good  things  we  were  all  as  merry  for  five  hours  as  if 
we  had  been  jolly  friars  instead  of  "  heroic  defenders." 
How  can  I  ever  forget  my  gratitude  to  my  servant  Jack, 
a  colored  boy  of  exceeding  comeliness,  for  his  graceful 
attendance  upon  that  table  ?  Where  he  borrowed  his 
white  shirt  and  new  pantaloons,  was  for  me  a  matter  of 
conjecture. 

While  our  men  at  the  outposts  were  saluting  their 
Rebel  brethren  with  nothing  stronger  than  the  compli 
ments  of  the  season,  being  unable,  from  want  of  supplies, 
to  offer  anything  more  refreshing  than  that,  or  at  best 
an  interchange  of  newspapers,  a  Confederate  soldier,  un 
der  cover  of  a  heavy  fog  which  shrouded  the  earth  and 
partially  concealed  his  form,  rushed  precipitately  to 
the  bridge  which  divided  our  opposing  forces,  exclaim 
ing  eagerly  :  — 

"  Have  you  any  copies  of  the  President's  proclamation  ? 
We  have  heard  there  is  one,  but  can't  get  a  copy." 

"  Here  is  one,"  replied  the  sergeant,  handing  him  a  paper. 

"  By  Jove!"  exclaimed  the  Eebel,  "  my  officers  are  at  my 
post !  I  can't  go  back  now.  One  of  our  men  was  shot  a 
little  while  ago  for  communicating  with  your  pickets. 
Can't  you  take  me  prisoner  ?  "  he  inquired  with  ludicrous 
anxiety. 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  267 

"  No,"  replied  the  sergeant ;  "  that  would  be  a  breach  of 
confidence.  We  have  been  accustomed  to  meet  and  ex 
change  papers  without  danger  to  either  party ;  the  rest  of 
your  men  won't  understand  it." 

"  But  I  only  came  over  for  the  President's  proclamation," 
repeated  the  man ;  "  and  now  that  I  am  discovered  I  can 
not  go  back." 

"  Go  back  to  the  other  side  of  the  bridge,"  said  the 
sergeant ;  "  get  your  gun  and  equipments,  and  let  them 
see  that  we  don't  detain  you  against  your  will." 

"  But  I  want  to  be  kinder  taken  prisoner,"  he  urged. 

"  Yes,"  replied  our  sergeant ;  "  you  would  like  to  have  it 
appear  that  we  have  abused  the  confidence  your  comrades 
have  reposed  in  us,  that  you  may  escape  the  odium  of 
desertion ! " 

He  could  n't  desert !     Oh,  no ;  he  could  n't  do  that ! 

"Then  you  may  return,"  said  the  sergeant;  "and  there 
is  no  other  alternative." 

The  man,  a  Yankee  living  at  the  South  when  the  war 
broke  out,  had  with  commendable  acuteness  calculated 
that  the  last  chance  for  the  South  had  about  gone,  and 
that  he  had  better  start  early  to  escape  the  falling  ruins. 
Waiving  his  objections  to  appearances,  he  dashed  across 
the  bridge,  seized  his  gun  and  cartridge-box,  returned,  and 
was  duly  taken  in  as  a  deserter.  From  this  dry  well  I 
pumped  the  information  that  but  a  small  force  occupied 
James  Island ;  that  three  more  iron-clads  were  building 
in  Charleston ;  that  the  South  was  tired  of  the  war  (as 
usual) ;  that  Beauregard  had  ordered  that  no  quarter  be 
given  to  black  troops  or  to  their  white  commanders,  —  and 
so  forth  and  so  on,  until  I  turned  his  attention  to  the 
country  in  front  of  our  pickets,  and  to  the  roads  we  should 
use  if  we  made  a  descent  upon  James  Island.  "There, 
sir,"  he  replied,  "  do  you  see  that  road  through  the  woods 


268  A  WAR  DIARY. 

[pointing  directly  in  front  of  my  picket  line]  ?  Well,  sir, 
there  are  torpedoes  in  that  road ;  and  in  a  hole  dug  in  the 
ground  there  is  a  can  of  liquid  or  Greek  fire,  with  a  fric 
tion  match  so  arranged  that  if  you  step  there  you  will 
ignite  it.  We  take  a  circuitous  path  to  the  right  to  avoid 
these  dangerous  places." 

Further  revelations  from  deserters,  it  soon  appeared,  had 
been  provided  against  by  the  Confederate  officers.  Artil 
lery  had  been  brought  to  the  Eebel  picket  station ;  our 
men  had  spied  it  in  the  thicket. 

Captain  Balch,  who  is  always  ready  with  the  "  Pawnee," 
came  to  my  tent  early  on  the  9th  of  January,  with  the 
commander  of  the  "  Cimmarone,"  to  arrange  for  a  search 
ing  reconnoissance  up  the  Stono,  beyond  the  site  of  the 
captured  battery,  past  Legareville,  to  the  permanent  Eebel 
fortifications  now  going  up  on  the  St.  John's  River.  Every 
thing  finally  being  agreed  upon,  I  prevailed  on  my  naval 
friends  to  pass  the  day  with  me  in  good  cheer ;  which  in 
truth  I  found  them  nothing  loath  to  do,  for  in  anticipation 
thereof  they  had  brought  their  "knitting"  with  them. 
This  metaphor  may  describe  the  long  yarns  they  spun, 
even  if  it  fails  to  show  that  anything  useful  was  con 
structed  in  the  tales  they  wove. 

The  "  Pawnee  "  was  ready  and  awaiting  my  arrival,  as 
on  the  morning  of  the  eleventh,  with  her  men  at  quarters, 
guns  shotted  and  lanyards  ready,  we  slowly  steamed  by 
the  hushed  and  lifeless  forest,  past  dead  and  deserted 
Legareville,  past  an  opening  in  the  forest,  where,  through 
the  smoky  air,  we  dimly  saw  the  spires  of  Charleston,  —  on 
until  a  row  of  piles  across  the  river  seemed  to  bar  our  pro 
gress,  though  as  we  approached  we  saw  an  opening  wide 
enough  for  the  "  Pawnee  "  to  pass ;  through  this  without 
hesitation  we  steamed,  and  so,  gently  moving,  still  sped 
onward,  regardless  of  concealed  batteries  on  shore  or 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  269 

obstructions  beneath  the  water,  until  a  large  and  heavy 
mound  of  earth  freshly  thrown  up,  with  embrasures  for 
cannon,  announced  a  new  work  for  defence.  Here  we 
stopped  and  looked  leisurely  at  the  Rebels  hard  at  work, 
and  at  their  troops,  —  they  in  turn  gazing  intently  at  us, 
as  we  thought,  but  making  no  effort  to  use  their  guns,  and 
none  to  oppose  our  passage  through  the  narrow  way  staked 
out.  We  could  but  speculate  on  this  strange  indifference, 
which,  however,  was  in  a  few  days  explained  to  us  by  a  boat 
load  of  deserters  who  gave  themselves-  up  to  Captain  Balch. 
The  inviting  passage  through  the  piling  carried  us  over 
several  large  torpedoes,  and  the  Eebel  garrison  were  much 
chagrined  that  we  did  not  disappear  in  a  tremendous 
explosion  and  vanish  in  the  air.  "  We  thought  this  would 
be  the  case,"  said  the  deserters,  "as  you  came  up  and 
passed  through ;  and  we  were  quite  sure  of  it  when  you 
returned,  —  yet  you  passed  in  safety.  Nevertheless  the 
torpedoes  are  there,  and  you  can  find  them  if  you  will." 
We  would  and  did.  From  their  watery  bed  Captain  Balch 
rescued  some  three  or  four  large  barrels  filled  with  pow 
der,  and  so  arranged  with  soft  sheet-lead,  covering  friction 
primers  in  their  bungs,  that  contact  with  our  vessel's  keel 
would  explode  them  in  the  magazine.  Certainly  we  had 
been  in  a  dangerous  neighborhood;  but  fate  had  soaked 
the  powder  with  sea-water,  despite  the  thick  coating  of  tar 
or  pitch  by  which  the  sunken  barrels  were  protected.  Over 
those  that  were  undamaged  by  the  water  we  managed  to 
pass  unhurt.  One  of  these  torpedoes  I  sent  to  the  military 
school  at  West  Point. 

Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  freedom  in  peace,  the 
price  of  victory  in  war.  This  continuous  reconnoitring, 
this  unceasing  guard-duty,  these  pickets  extended  where 
they  could  best  observe  the  ground  which  the  enemy  occu 
pied  in  our  front,  — were  only  that  we  might  know  what  we 


270  A  WAR  DIARY. 

had  to  defend  or  attack.  Every  commander  should  be  able 
at  all  times  to  place  on  paper  a  sketch  of  the  forces  and 
positions  of  his  enemy.  Overlooking  hills  may  be  occu 
pied  ;  but  where  the  field  is  a  plain,  as  it  was  with  us  on 
those  flat  marshes,  it  is  easy  to  build  tall  scaffoldings,  upon 
which  sentinels  may  keep  watch  on  front  and  side  and 
rear,  so  that  the  scene  of  military  operations  may  lie  before 
the  commander  as  the  moves  on  a  chess-board. 

With  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  accurate  information, 
I  visited,  on  the  llth  of  January,  one  of  my  most  impor 
tant  picket  stations,  and  found  that  where  a  tall  look-out 
had  been  built  no  sentinel  for  many  days  Ijad  climbed  to 
take  observations,  because  "  some  steps  of  the  ladder  had 
been  broken  off,  and  there  was  nothing  to  nail  them  on 
with  "  !  Regularly  established  and  regularly  relieved,  the 
men  posted  at  this  important  station  had  day  after  day 
wilfully  and  stupidly  neglected  their  duty,  —  the  very 
object  of  their  coming,  —  because  there  was  "  nothing  by 
to  nail  on  the  slats  with  "  !  I  rode  away  asking  myself  if 
man  was  an  intelligent  being,  —  if  his  creation  evinced 
design  in  the  Creator  ?  But  I  did  not  solve  the  problem 
that  day  nor  the  next ;  and  perhaps  it  was  because  I  de 
voted  the  period  to  a  reconnoissance  on  Seabrook  Island 
(adjoining  Kiowah),  abandoning  the  conundrum  to  moral 
ists  and  theologians,  while  with  a  competent  force  I  pushed 
through  the  dense  foliage  until  I  stood  in  an  opening  in 
the  midst  of  which  was  a  veritable  old  Revolutionary 
mansion  called  the  Vanderherst  estate.  Our  invasion 
awoke  echoes  which  had  been  silent  for  many  months  in 
the  spacious  but  empty  halls.  The  house  was  untenanted, 
the  grounds  were  almost  deserted.  Three  old  negroes,  sur 
viving  slaves  of  fugitive  masters,  bade  us  welcome,  in  the 
presence  of  two  ancient  mules  which  browsed  around  and 
stared  at  us,  as  we  approached  and  questioned  these  forlorn 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  271 

darkies.  "  No,  massa,"  they  said,  "  'cept  dese  yer  mules, 
dere  's  nobody  here."  A  legend  of  two  wild  asses  and  a 
phantom  deer  flitted  before  their  dazed  minds;  but  save 
these,  the  deep  and  luxuriant  verdure  shaded  no  life. 

Early  in  the  war  the  old  Eebel  Vanderherst  fled  with  his 
valuables,  leaving  the  tumble-down  mansion  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  those  who,  animated  by  curiosity  or  a  hope  of 
reward  (a  combination  of  motives  irresistible  to  a  soldier), 
might  choose  to  rest  under  the  trees  or  roam  through  the 
deserted  dwelling.  Absolutely  nothing  of  value  was  found 
in  the  house,  save  a  fine  old  mahogany  bedstead,  and  this 
my  men  kindly  proposed  to  bear  off  for  my  use ;  but  I  for 
bade  it,  for  it  would  have  been  an  infraction  of  a  good  rule 
in  warfare,  that  private  property  may  be  devoted  to  public 
uses,  but  never  to  personal.  Our  expedition  revealed  the 
fact  that  there  was  no  occupation  of  the  island  by  the  enemy, 
and  that  it  would  be  useless  to  maintain  a  garrison  there, 
even  if  we  were  to  remain  longer  on  Morris  or  on  Folly 
Island ;  and  that  we  were  not,  had  now  passed  from  the 
region  of  rumor  into  certainty.  On  Wednesday,  the  13th 
of  January,  Gillmore  returned  from  Hilton  Head  with  the 
announcement  that  hereafter  his  own  headquarters  would 
be  established  there.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  end. 
Tired  of  a  costly  and  profitless  struggle,  the  War  Depart 
ment  had  now  begun  what  had  been  too  long  delayed,  — 
the  removal  of  Gillmore  from  this  region. 

Before  continuing  this  history  in  pages  which  shall 
record  the  disaster  of  Olustee  in  Florida,  —  the  scene  of 
Gillmore's  next  operations,  —  I  will  follow  on  with  varied 
experiences,  as  they  are  recorded  in  my  note-book,  of  the 
last  days  of  our  operations  on  Morris  and  Folly  islands,  — 
among  which  was  a  visit  by  a  young  lady  whom  I  had 
met  on  the  "  Arago."  Attended  by  her  father  and  a  staff 
of  officers,  the  party  came  upon  me  so  suddenly  in  my  tent 


272  A  WAR  DIARY. 

that  I  had  no  time  to  remove  a  long  flannel  night-shirt 
which  my  chamberlain  (Jack)  had  displayed  in  its  most 
effective  manner  for  sanitary  purposes ;  but  this  confusion 
did  not  repress  the  melody  of  her  laughter,  nor  shade  the 
sunlight  which  she  brought  into  the  chilling  atmosphere 
of  perpetual  bachelordom.  The  angel  never  came  again, 
though  Jack  paraded  the  old  talisman  with  a  feeling  that 
it  might  bring  a  similar  visitation. 

Meanwhile  my  tent  saw  visitors  of  a  very  different  sort. 
Two  Irishmen  and  a  German  were  ushered  into  it  as  de 
serters,  tinder  cover  of  a  dense  fog,  from  a  Eebel  fort  on  the 
Stono,  who  had  delivered  themselves  to  Captain  Balch  on 
the  15th  of  January,  the  day  of  their  escape.  Without 
a  moment's  reluctance,  they  told  me  that  they  came  from 
the  Fifteenth  Independent  Battalion,  commanded  by  a 
Major  Lucas;  that  they  estimated  the  number  of  the 
enemy  on  James  Island  at  ten  thousand  men,  and  that 
they  got  at  it  by  knowing  that  one  third  of  the  whole 
number  there  were  ordered  to  be  present  at  a  military  exe 
cution,  and  that  third  they  estimated  at  three  thousand ; 
but  when  pressed  for  positions,  names  of  regiments  and 
commanders,  they  utterly  failed  to  respond.  Their  own 
battalion,  they  said,  belonged  inside  the  fortification  on  the 
island ;  but  they  did  not  know  the  position  of  Colquitt's 
brigade,  numbering  eight  hundred  men,  recently  from  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  nor  could  they  place  Colonels 
Symington  and  Galliard  with  a  total  of  one  thousand  men. 
They  did  not  know  what  other  troops  were  on  the  island, 
but  did  know  that  at  night  a  whole  regiment  was  stationed 
in  front  of  the  fortifications,  and  withdrawn  at  daylight. 

This  was  the  meagre  information  I  received ;  and  it  was 
about  what  might  be  looked  for  from  such  sources.  Men 
are  very  apt  to  jump  at  an  exact  estimate  when  asked  for 
the  numbers  that  occupy  a  territory;  but  they  are  gen- 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  273 

erally  staggered  when  questioned  as  to  the  positions  and 
names  of  commanders.  I  should  look  with  great  suspicion 
upon  a  deserter  who  reported  a  territorial  disposition  with 
precision,  and  should  require  confirmation  before  acting 
on  such  information.  Our  deserters  were  honest  enough, 
without  doubt,  and  had  brought  off  all  the  facts  which 
their  not  enormous  crania  could  hold. 

I  questioned  these  men  on  another  subject,  where  knowl 
edge  is  apt  to  be  accurate,  —  their  rations.  They  looked 
fat,  arid  were  ready  enough  to  reveal  that  one  and  one 
fifth  pounds  of  corn-meal,  or  grits,  or  rice,  or  hard  bread 
per  day,  with  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  bacon  or  one  pound 
of  beef,  constituted  their  daily  food.  They  had  had  no 
vegetables  for  eighteen  months,  and  nothing  but  water  for 
the  same  period  to  drink.  Soap  was  issued  once  more, — 
three  pounds  to  one  hundred  rations.  Their  pay  was  eleven 
dollars  per  month.  Such  was  their  physical  condition. 

As  to  their  mental,  I  found  them  much  dissatisfied  with 
the  status  of  Eebeldom.  All  the  men  of  their  company 
would  desert,  they  said,  if  they  could  get  away.  (Deserters, 
however,  are  apt  to  talk  thus.)  Their  officers  did  not  con 
fide  anything  to  the  men,  and  the  men  did  not  think  they 
could  whip  the  Yankees.  They  believed  the  war  would 
end  that  year,  but  predicted  more  fighting  in  the  spring ; 
furloughed  men,  returning  from  Virginia,  spoke  of  Lee's 
intention  to  invade  Pennsylvania  at  that  time.  I  also 
learned  that  a  distinguished  functionary  in  North  Carolina 
so  far  forgot  Jefferson  Davis  and  the  Confederacy  as  to  drink 
to  the  success  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes ;  while  reports  from 
other  officials  in  that  State  were  rife,  that  the  will  of  the 
people  to  return  to  the  Union  was  so  strong  that  they  could 
not  be  controlled.  With  the  further  information  that  there 
were  obstructions  in  Charleston  Harbor  and  a  living,  active 
garrison  in  Fort  Sumter,  I  closed  my  interview  with  these 

18 


274  A  WAR  DIARY. 

deserters,  with  perhaps  as  little  valuable  information  as  one 
would  look  for  from  such  sources. 

More  evidence  of  our  disintegration  came  to  us  on  the 
15th  of  January  in  an  order  to  detach  from  my  command 
and  send  to  Hilton  Head  the  Fortieth  Massachusetts  Kegi- 
ment  of  Infantry,  to  report  to  General  Seymour,  to  be  used 
as  mounted  infantry.  This  valuable  regiment,  which  had 
been  with  me  for  nearly  one  year,  I  brought  in  my  division 
to  this  department  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  after 
Gettysburg.  I  was  sorry  to  lose  it ;  nevertheless  I  pub 
lished  the  order  on  the  same  day  I  received  it,  directing 
the  regiment  to  leave  in  the  morning.  During  the  evening 
of  the  same  day  I  had  pleasant  interviews  with  the  officers, 
and  was  serenaded  by  the  band  in  token  of  kindly  feeling. 
At  ten  A.M.,  the  16th  of  January,  the  regiment,  en  route 
for  embarkation,  formed  in  line  as  they  passed  my  tent 
and  saluted  me.  Undisturbed  save  by  the  gentle  murmur 
of  the  waves,  I  spoke  in  parting  of  my  regrets  at  the  loss, 
praised  them  as  efficient  and  soldierly  men,  and  called 
their  attention  to  the  fact  that  as  Massachusetts  troops 
they  had,  without  murmuring,  stood  for  many  weary  weeks 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes  on  this  sandy 
coast,  in  sight  of  that  city  which  Massachusetts  had  spe 
cial  cause  to  remember.  With  three  cheers,  the  regiment 
moved  away  forever  from  my  command. 

The  departure  of  the  Fortieth  Massachusetts  was  fol 
lowed  by  an  order  putting  me  in  charge  of  the  whole  of 
Folly  Island,  with  instructions  to  hold  myself  in  readiness 
to  leave  this  delectable  spot  at  any  moment.  The  reader 
will  believe  that  I  could  comply  with  this  order  without  a 
murmur.  The  troops  on  the  island,  divided  into  seventeen 
regiments  and  several  batteries,  numbering  over  five  thou 
sand  men,  were  organized  into  brigades  and  divisions.  The 
first  division,  commanded  by  General  Vogdes,  consisted  of 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  275 

three  brigades,  one  of  which,  composed  of  but  two  regi 
ments,  was  made  up  of  negroes  with  white  officers,  —  the 
Fifty-sixth  Massachusetts,  Colonel  Hartwell,  and  a  North 
Carolina  regiment,  Colonel  Beecher.  In  my  own  division 
there  were  two  brigades,  with  three  light  batteries.  I  re 
viewed  these  troops  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  Jan 
uary,  and  carefully  inspected  the  line,  which  was  nearly 
a  mile  in  length. 

I  was  not  impressed  with  the  negroes  as  soldiers ;  but 
there  was  a  difference  between  the  colored  men  from  Mas 
sachusetts  and  those  from  North  Carolina.  Those  from 
the  former  State  were  well  made  and  intelligent,  while 
those  from  the  latter  were  dwarfed  and  ill  formed.  From 
revelations  subsequently  made  before  a  general  court-mar 
tial,  in  the  trial  of  an  officer  for  selling  colored  recruits  to 
a  Massachusetts  agent  under  a  Presidential  call  for  patriots, 
this  curious  bit  of  history  appeared.  A  witness,  a  citizen 
of  Massachusetts,  being  under  oath,  swore  that  he  formed 
a  copartnership  with  others  to  go  to  Newberne  in  North 
Carolina  and  buy  up  negroes  to  fill  the  requisition  made 
upon  Massachusetts ;  that  he  went,  accompanied  by  a  pay 
master  from  that  State,  who  carried  with  him  four  hundred 
and  twenty-five  dollars  for  each  recruit,  of  which  one  hun 
dred  dollars  was  "  hand  money,"  as  it  was  called,  —  that  is, 
it  was  furnished  by  private  subscription  from  towns  to  aid 
in  getting  their  quota,  each  town  thus  receiving  a  credit  of 
negroes  in  proportion  to  the  "hand  money  "  furnished ;  that 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  was  the  State's  bounty 
to  recruits,  and  that  of  this  the  negro  got  but  two  hundred, 
the  other  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  being  profits  of  the 
business,  out  of  which  he  had  made  ten  thousand  dollars  as 
his  share ;  that  he  paid  much  more  than  many  other  State 
agents,  and  that  as  sharp  a  bargain  as  could  be  was  gener 
ally  driven  with  the  poor  ebony  emblems  of  patriotism. 


276  A  WAR   DIARY. 

At  this  time  I  visited  again  Forts  Wagner  and  Gregg. 
We  could  stand  at  the  extreme  end  of  Cumming's  Point, 
on  the  precise  spot  which  in  April,  1861,  held  the  first 
Eebel  battery  that  fired  on  Fort  Sumter.  From  our  line 
of  sand  embankments,  scarce  twelve  hundred  yards  over 
the  waters  of  the  harbor,  we  could  gaze  upon  the  shapeless 
sides  of  Sumter,  still  defiant.  From  her  ruins  rose  the 
Eebel  flag,  and  over  her  crumbled  parapet  the  muzzles  of 
huge  guns  yawned,  while  behind  it  there  were  stout  hearts 
and  arms  to  defend  them ;  we  could  not  take  the  ruined 
fort  if  we  would.  All  around  our  circle  of  vision,  Rebel 
batteries  frowned  upon  us.  Sullivan's  Island,  Mount 
Pleasant,  Castle  Pinckney,  James  Island,  Middle  Battery, 
—  from  all  of  them  black-mouthed  engines  of  death,  in 
ranges  and  in  tiers,  threatened  us  with  concentric  destruc 
tion.  Some  were  not  more  than  a  mile  away,  and  all  (over 
one  hundred  in  number)  could  have  deluged  us  with  shell 
and  grape.  Rebel  soldiers  were  in  sight  everywhere,  and 
we  could  clearly  discern  Charleston,  its  houses  and  its 
wharves,  —  that  Charleston  whose  streets  were  once  filled 
with  a  shouting  and  excited  multitude  of  men  and  women 
listening  with  exultation  to  the  cannon's  roar  as  Beau- 
regard  (in  1861)  assailed  in  Sumter  his  fellow-citizens 
and  life-long  companions  in  arms  ;  that  Charleston  whose 
maddened  mobs  cursed  the  North,  and  defiantly  chal 
lenged  it  to  mortal  combat.  Well  could  I  recall  the 
hour  when  these  men  of  South  Carolina  paraded  in  their 
shallow  pomp  before  the  representative  of  the  London 
"  Times,"  to  tell  him  that  they  would  like  a  prince  of  the 
royal  English  blood  to  rule  over  them.  Oh,  how  time 
deals  with  the  follies  of  fools  !  "  We  never  can  be  whipped, 
sir,"  —  "I  tell  you  the  whole  world  cannot  conquer  us,"  — 
"  Cotton  is  king,"  —  "  Where  will  be  your  carrying  trade 
then  ? "  —  «  The  Yankees  won't  fight,"  —  "  The  negroes  are 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  277 

the  happiest  people  in  the  world  while  they  are  slaves,"  — 
and  so  on  ad  naitseam  to  Mr.  Russell,  as  one  may  read  in 
his  very  interesting  "  Diary  North  and  South,"  in  1863. 

All  this  I  thought,  as  I  stood  on  the  very  end  of  Curn- 
ming's  Point  and  listened  to  the  crash  of  the  thirty- 
pounder  Parrott  by  my  side,  whose  booming  sounds  had 
now  for  more  than  fourteen  hundred  times  carried  con 
sternation  to  the  enemy,  and  saw  that  dark  globe  flying 
through  space  to  fall  with  merciless  and  savage  power 
within  the  very  heart  of  the  city  itself.  The  Swamp 
Angel  was  silent,  and  since  our  occupation  of  Cumming's 
Point  we  had  established  there  the  "  Avenging  Angel," 
which  hurled  bursting  bomb  and  Greek  fire  not  alone  upon 
the  heads  of  enemies,  but,  alas !  upon  those  of  our  own 
poor  fellows  who  had  been  taken  as  prisoners  and  sent  to 
Charleston  to  divert  Gillmore  from  his  work.  How  those 
emaciated  captives  prayed  that  they  might  escape,  and  how 
they  did  escape  this  horror,  has  often  since  the  wTar  been 
told.  "  Stand  where  your  own  guns  with  hottest  fire  may 
tell  upon  you,"  said  the  Christian  Beauregard  to  these  help 
less  men,  as  he  placed  them  in  Charleston  within  the  circle 
of  our  fire.  And  there  they  stood  until  the  next  steamer 
from  the  North  brought  to  Morris  Island  an  equal  number 
of  Rebel  prisoners,  whom  we  posted  where  the  Rebel  fire 
carne  strong  and  hot,  at  the  end  of  Cumming's  Point,  when 
the  Rebels  saw  the  game,  and  begged  to  be  allowed  to 
stop. 

The  bombardment  of  Charleston  was  of  no  service  in 
bringing  about  peace,  but  it  satisfied  a  certain  thirst  for 
vengeance,  —  such,  for  instance,  as  existed  in  a  certain 
seeker  after  fame,  a  restless,  irrepressible  female,  a  Gideon- 
ite,  as  her  class  was  called,  wandering  here  as  a  teacher  of 
abandoned  negroes,  a  stranger  without  fear  of  Rebel  shot. 
Listening  on  a  time  with  rapt  attention  to  the  story  which 


278  A  WAR  DIARY. 

told  the  fame  of  our  thirty-pounder  Parrott  gun  at  Cum- 
nring's  Point,  she  became  animated  with  a  desire  to  gain 
one  knows  not  what,  and  asked  to  be  conducted  to  the  gun. 
She  took  in  at  a  glance  the  bank  of  earth  —  the  shelter  of 
our  gunners  from  the  danger  of  a  bursting  gun  —  and  the 
long  lanyard  attached  to  the  friction-primer ;  and  she  felt 
that  to  fire  a  shell  into  the  very  heart  of  that  city  of  traitors, 
to  add  another  to  the  fourteen  hundred  discharges  of  that 
historic  gun,  to  stand  within  the  range  of  Charleston's  spires, 
defying  the  Eebel  storm  upon  her  head,  was  surely  such  an 
opportunity  as  had  never  descended  upon  Gideonite  before. 
The  hour  of  her  destiny  had  arrived.  Scarcely  awaiting 
permission,  she  advanced  boldly  to  the  intervening  earth 
embankment,  looked  in  triumph  from  gun  to  city,  then  to 
heaven,  with  inward  petition  that  she  might  survive  the 
hour  and  live  to  thrill  the  Northern  heart  with  a  recital  of 
her  deeds,  seized  the  lanyard  firmly  in  her  hand,  and  pulled 
with  energy  enough  to  dare  a  platform  in  behalf  of  woman 
suffrage.  To  its  appointed  duty  each  element  was  true, 
save  one.  The  gun,  with  thundering  sound,  sent  out  its 
missile,  while  clouds  of  smoke  concealed  from  view  the 
agent  and  the  actors  in  the  scene ;  when  it  cleared  away, 
there,  far  down  a  steep  descent,  clutching  a  broken  lan 
yard  in  her  hand,  in  posture  quite  reversed,  her  limbs,  like 
Charleston's  spires,  pointing  heavenward, — there,  unharmed 
but  most  discomfited,  lay  the  heroic  woman.  The  gun  had 
gone  off  in  one  direction,  the  schoolmarm  in  the  other ; 
the  shell  exploded  with  powder,  the  soldiers  with  laughter. 
The  act  of ,  the  Gideonite  was  historical  in  more  senses 
than  one. 

From  the  26th  of  January  until  the  end  came,  in  the 
Florida  disaster,  but  little  of  interest  took  place.  General 
Terry  had  been  left  in  command ;  he  was  next  in  rank  to 
Gillmore.  But  there  was  little  for  him  to  do.  When  the 


SEA  ISLANDS  OFF  CHARLESTON.  279 

enemy  opened  with  mortars  upon  Cumming's  Point,  he 
went  there  and  saw  guns  in  process  of  erection  upon  the 
laud  side  of  Sumter :  that  was  on  the  28th  of  January, 
1864,  and  the  situation  was  confirmed  to  us  on  the  last 
day  of  that  month  by  deserters,  who  told  us  that  the  fort 
was  now  very  strong,  that  the  garrison  were  secure  in 
bomb-proofs,  and  that  more  heavy  ordnance  was  there 
ready  to  be  placed  in  position. 

On  the  night  of  the  1st  of  February  a  blockade-runner, 
in  attempting  to  enter  the  harbor  of  Charleston,  was  driven 
by  our  fleet  —  or  through  fear  of  our  fleet  drove  herself — 
so  far  out  of  the  channel  that  she  ran  ashore  under  the 
guns  of  Sullivan's  Island.  Daylight  revealed  to  the  eyes 
of  our  soldiers  and  sailors  this  prize  hard  and  fast  on  the 
beach  in  such  a  way  that  the  Kebels  were  working  like 
beavers  in  removing  the  cargo.  Instantly  the  guns  from 
Wagner  and  the  iron-clads  opened  on  the  steamer,  making 
great  holes  in  her  iron  sides,  but  not  frightening  away  the 
Eebels  themselves,  who  defiantly  and  openly  continued  in 
the  removal  of  the  valuable  cargo,  with  a  spirit  and  vigor 
which  made  prize  'money  to  our  fellows  in  this  case  a 
shadow  and  a  myth. 

But  it  was  not  to  blockade-runners,  nor  to  the  tedious 
monotony  of  operations  against  Charleston,  that  we  were 
henceforth  to  give  our  attention.  When  it  became  apparent 
that  nothing  more  could  be  accomplished  here,  the  Admin 
istration  ordered  a  military  movement  in  Florida,  the  effect 
of  which,  it  was  thought,  would  be  felt  in  the  coming  Presi 
dential  election.  It  was  believed  that  large  numbers  of 
whites  and  blacks  would,  if  protected  by  the  United  States 
Government,  cast  their  ballots  for  the  Eepublican  party ; 
all  that  was  needed  was  to  cover  with  our  troops  as  much 
of  the  State  as  possible,  and  to  furnish  the  civil  machinery 
for  the  collection  of  votes.  To  Mr.  John  Hay,  the  Presi- 


280  A   WAR   DIARY. 

dent's  private  secretary,  was  deputed  the  work  of  registra 
tion.  This  functionary  appeared  in  our  department  laden 
with  the  requisite  papers,  at  about  the  time  the  forward 
movement  took  place. 

On  the  6th  of  February  the  troops  that  were  to  be  taken 
from  Morris  and  Folly  islands  set  sail  for  Florida,  to  be 
united  with  others  from  Beaufort  and  Hilton  Head.  At 
Jacksonville  the  invading  army  under  Gillmore  was  or 
ganized.  Colonel  Hawley,  of  Connecticut,  commanded  a 
brigade  of  infantry  made  up  of  his  own,  the  Seventh  Kegi- 
ment,  and  the  Seventh  New  Hampshire.  Colonel  Barton, 
of  New  York,  was  assigned  to  a  second  brigade  composed 
of  the  Forty-eighth,  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth,  and 
the  Forty-seventh  New  York  regiments  of  infantry.  To 
another  brigade,  consisting  of  two  colored  regiments,  —  the 
First  North  Carolina  and  the  Fifty-fifth  Massachusetts,  — 
Colonel  Beecher  was  assigned ;  while  a  fourth,  composed 
of  five  colored  regiments,  —  the  Second  South  Carolina, 
Fifty-fourth  Massachusetts,  the  Third  and  Eighth  United 
States,  and  the  First  South  Carolina,  —  was  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Montgomery.  Three  field  batteries 
were  commanded  by  Captain  John  Hamilton,  of  the  regu 
lar  artillery,  and  by  Captain  Elder,  also  a  regular.  The 
cavalry  was  improvised,  with  the  exception  of  a  single 
squadron,  from  mounted  infantry  ;  the  Fortieth  Massachu 
setts  regiment  was  mounted  on  animals  raked  and  scraped 
up  within  the  department. 

This  entire  heterogeneous  body  was  commanded  by  Gen 
eral  Truman  Seymour,  of  the  United  States  Army,  —  an 
officer  of  skill  and  great  bravery.  It  numbered  less  than 
five  thousand  men,  as  given  at  the  time  by  Captain  Elder ; 
about  four  thousand  eight  hundred  were  reported  by  Gen 
eral  Seymour  as  in  the  fight  which  afterwards  took  place. 
On  the  9th  of  February,  Seymour,  en  route  from  Jackson- 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF   CHARLESTON.  281 

ville  to  Lake  City,  had  advanced  to  Baldwin,  a  distance  of 
twenty  miles.  Beyond,  the  railroad  was  to  be  destroyed. 
Thirty-five  miles  more  were  before  him.  After  marching 
thirty-two  of  it  he  came  to  a  small  town  called  Olustee. 

Gillmore  went  with  his  troops  as  far  as  Baldwin.  From 
there  he  dated  his  last  despatch  to  Halleck,  claiming  to 
be  with  the  "  advance  ; "  but  he  advanced  no  further.  Re 
turning  immediately  to  Hilton  Head,  in  South  Carolina, 
he  issued,  on  the  15th  of  February,  a  flaming  manifesto  or 
proclamation  of  his  occupancy  of  the  country,  and  called 
on  all  Floridians  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  Florida, 
he  said,  had  been  recovered  from  Rebel  rule ;  the  United 
States  would  not  again  abandon  it ;  they  were  abundantly 
able  to  protect  all  loyal  citizens  ! 

It  was  the  20th  of  February  when  General  Seymour 
reached  Olustee.  His  movement  from  Baldwin  —  in  obedi 
ence  to  Gillmore's  orders,  or  the  spirit  of  his  orders  —  has 
been  criticised.1  There  is  evidence  of  vacillation  here. 
Gillmore  did  order  the  advance,  and  then,  as  if  halting  in 
fear,  countermanded  the  order.  But  nine  hours  had  inter 
vened  between  the  first  and  second  order,  and  in  the  mean 
time  disaster  had  overtaken  us.  General  Seymour  relied 
upon  the  railroad  for  his  transportation ;  but  it  proved  a 
failure,  for  he  had  in  use  but  a  single  engine,  which  was 
captured  at  Fernandina,  and  proved  to  be  out  of  repair,  and 
which  soon  broke  down  and  became  useless.  The  country 
through  which  he  moved  was  open  and  even  ;  one  searched 
in  vain  for  the  slightest  elevation.  Where  the  ground  was 
dry  the  bottom  was  firm  and  the  footing  safe.  Strategi 
cally,  however,  no  position  was  safe,  and  few  tactically. 
Troops  could  march  in  any  and  every  direction.  "  It  was 
damned  nonsense  to  advance  without  a  base :  even  Gill 
more's  line  of  communication  was  not  secure,"  was  the 

1    See  General  Seymour's  Report. 


282  A  WAR  DIARY. 

criticism  of  a  general  officer  who  did  not  march  under 
Seymour. 

As  the  troops  were,  however,  on  they  went  in  that  fatal 
march  of  the  last  day  (the  twentieth),  hurrying  forward  to 
Lake  City.  Hawley's  brigade  was  in  the  advance,  moving 
in  three  parallel  columns  by  flank,  —  one  in  the  road  and 
one  on  each  side  dressing  on  the  centre.  In  Hawley's  rear 
came  Barton;  and  following  him  were  Montgomery  and 
Beecher,  —  all  formed  and  moving  like  the  head  brigade. 
Musketry  firing  was  heard ;  the  column  halted.  Hawley's 
brigade  moved  forward,  and  Barton's  followed.  At  two  P.  M. 
the  first  cannon  was  fired.  It  came  from  the  enemy,  who 
was  in  position  before  our  troops.  Hawley  hurried  forward, 
and  Barton  followed ;  but  the  latter  did  not  get  up  till  Haw- 
ley  had  been  repulsed.  Langdon  had  lost  his  guns,  and  the 
dickens  was  to  pay.  Montgomery  was  not  within  support 
ing  distance  when  the  action  began,  but  under  peremptory 
orders  hurried  forward  and  aided  in  the  four  hours'  contest 
which  ensued  before  the  Federal  troops  were  fairly  driven 
from  the  field  and  put  in  flight  for  Jacksonville. 

The  contest  appears  to  have  begun  with  a  blunder.  The 
enemy  awaited  Seymour's  approach ;  his  line  crossed  the 
railroad  at  right  angles,  his  flanks  resting  on  two  lakes ; 
his  front  was  strengthened  with  embankments  and  logs, 
behind  which  his  infantry  and  artillery,  thrown  forward 
like  the  heels  of  a  horse-shoe,  found  cover.  In  number 
he  had,  as  he  claimed,  but  eight  regiments  and  three 
battalions  of  infantry,  with  three  batteries,  mostly  Georgia 
troops,1 — in  all  about  five  thousand  men.  Our  officers 
place  the  number  at  ten  thousand ;  but  that  was  when  the 
fight  was  just  over. 

We  were  whipped  in  detail.  Our  advance  was  in  the 
enemy's  works  before  we  knew  it,  and  the  troops  first  in 

1  Report  in  a  Confederate  paper  of  Feb.  27,  1864. 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  283 

were  whipped  before  they  were  fairly  engaged.  Langdon 
lost  his  guns  almost  within  pistol-shot  of  the  enemy's  line ; 
the  fire  was  too  hot  to  bring  them  off,  though  our  troops 
were  at  one  time  within  twenty-five  yards  of  them.  In 
forming  for  action  after  our  first  surprise,  another  blunder 
was  committed.  Our  rear  was  rushed  forward  to  support 
a  disheartened  force,  when  this  force  itself  should  have 
fallen  back  on  a  cool  and  unbroken  one.  The  Federal 
troops  fought  well,  with  some  few  exceptions,  the  officers 
said.  One  white  and  one  colored  regiment  formed  the  ex 
ceptions  in  the  opinions  of  some ;  although  both  General 
Seymour  and  an  officer  of  his  staff  agreed  that  the  colonel 
of  the  white  regiment  (the  Seventh  New  Hampshire)  be 
haved  well  in  trying  to  rally  his  men,  and  that  the  Eighth 
(colored)  United  States  did  not  break  till  most  of  its  officers 
were  killed  or  wounded.  When  our  men  first  turned  in 
flight,  the  enemy  gave  three  cheers,  dashed  forward,  and 
pursued  for  five  hours.  The  cavalry  seem  to  have  been 
useless.  Two  thousand  Eebel  horse  remained  passive 
on  the  Federal  left  flank,  observing  a  few  companies  of 
Federal  cavalry  sent  out  to  fight  it. 

The  first  reports  of  this  disaster  came  to  us  on  Folly  and 
Morris  islands,  through  a  captain  of  a  steamboat,  on  the 
twenty-first  of  the  month  ;  on  the  twenty-second  we  knew 
it  all.  Five  brigadier-generals  had  remained  idly  await 
ing  results  on  those  islands,  while  as  many  brigades  com 
manded  by  colonels  were  being  whipped  at  Olustee.  Save 
General  Seymour  in  command,  there  was  no  general  officer 
with  Gillmore's  Florida  army.  Now  it  was  time  for  brig 
adier-generals  to  be  called  in.  General  Terry  was  directed 
to  send  two  brigades  to  Jacksonville,  —  one  of  them  under 
General  Ames  from  my  division,  a  second  under  General 
Foster  from  General  Terry's ;  the  whole  to  be  commanded 
by  General  Vogdes. 


284  A  WAR  DIARY. 

On  the  twenty-fifth,  in  the  afternoon,  all  that  remained 
of  our  Florida  army  were  again  at  Jacksonville  intrench 
ing  against  a  further  pursuit  and  a  renewed  attack  by  an 
enemy  in  whose  hands  we  had  already  left  eight  hundred 
dead,  wounded,  and  missing,  while  we  held  in  our  own  of 
wounded  and  dying  eleven  hundred  more.  We  also  lost 
in  artillery  five  pieces,  and  in  small  arms  fifteen  hundred 
muskets.1  The  Eebel  army  was  commanded  by  a  General 
Finnigan,  who  was  much  praised  for  his  skill  in  entrap 
ping  Yankees.  The  enemy's  losses  are  put  by  them  at 
eighty  killed  and  five  or  six  hundred  wounded.  Gillrnore's 
staff  loudly  declaimed  against  Seymour;  indeed  so  did 
Gillmore  himself,  who  charged  him  with  disobeying  orders, 
but  was  silent  in  his  specifications.  It  was  further  charged 
against  Seymour  that  he  marched  in  three  parallel  col 
umns,  with  his  cavalry  in  the  middle,  and  with  no  skir 
mishers  or  advanced  guard  to  the  front;  and  that  he 
walked  into  the  arms  of  a  concealed  enemy  in  a  wood 
which  was  alive  with  his  numbers.  Seymour's  affair  is 
spoken  of  as  a  Braddock's  defeat  or  a  Dade's  massacre ; 
but  there  was  no  reason  in  this  denunciation.  An  army  of 
several  thousand  men  could  conceal  themselves  among  the 
pines  in  that  flat  region  so  as  to  avoid  detection.  That 
Seymour  was  surprised  when  he  found  himself  actually  en 
gaged  with  an  army  in  position,  one  may  not  doubt ;  but 
his  men  fought  well,  even  though  fate  was  against  them 
at  the  beginning. 

While  these  events  were  happening  in  Florida,  Gillmore 
was  safely  housed  in  South  Carolina,  in  his  headquarters 
at  Hilton  Head.  There  he  heard  both  of  the  defeat  and 
of  the  rout  of  his  troops.  Our  loss,  it  was  said,  now  footed 
up  twenty-two  hundred  men. 

Preceding  this  fiasco,  and  as  a  diversion  in  its  behalf, 

1  Gillmore's  Official  Eeport. 


SEA   ISLANDS    OFF   CHARLESTON.  285 

Gillmore  had  sent  orders  from  Hilton  Head  to  General 
Terry  at  Morris  Island  to  make  a  demonstration  with  five 
or  six  thousand  troops  on  John's  Island.  Not  a  word  of 
his  purposes,  upon  which  Terry's  plans  should  hinge ;  not 
a  syllable  of  where  on  John's  Island  the  diversion  was  to 
be  made,  nor  how  long  it  was  to  be  kept  up,  nor  when  it 
was  to  begin,  did  Gillmore  vouchsafe,  nor  could  Terry  dis 
cover,  though  he  sought  it  from  Gillrnore's  chief  of  staff. 
On  the  12th  of  February,  eight  days  before  our  troops  had 
met  the  enemy  at  Olustee,  Terry's  expedition  returned. 
The  results  were  summed  up  in  a  loss  of  three  or  four  Fed 
erals  killed  and  some  six  wounded ;  but  we  captured  five 
horses.  Nor  was  this  all.  General  Schimmelfening  in 
command  discovered  and  brought  away  with  him  from  a 
Eebel  outpost  a  book  in  which  all  of  Gillmore's  preliminary 
despatches  concerning  his  contemplated  invasion  of  Florida, 
transmitted  from  Folly  Island  to  Hilton  Head  and  Jack 
sonville,  —  despatches  giving  the  numbers  of  his  expedi 
tion,  its  armament,  and  so  forth,  —  had  been  transcribed. 
There  were  seen  the  vacant  places  where  the  most  import 
ant  ones  had  been  cut  out  to  be  sent  to  Beauregard ;  and 
there,  too,  were  some  of  Gillmore's  unimportant  messages, 
which  our  signal  officer  admitted  to  have  been  sent.  The 
point  of  Eebel  observation  was  in  full  sight  of  one  of  our 
signal  stations,  at  a  place  called  Botany  Bay,  on  a  short 
line  to  South  Carolina  at  Hilton  Head,  where  our  flag  sig 
nals  were  received  and  repeated.1 

Much  impressed  with  this  revelation,  General  Schim 
melfening  sought  to  use  it  to  our  advantage,  and  to  avert, 
if  possible,  a  consequent  disaster.  "  I  will  make  use,"  he 
wrote  to  General  Terry,  "of  this  unhappy  fact  to  our  ad- 

1  I  have  since  been  informed  by  General  Couch  that  all  of  Gillmore's 
despatches,  as  they  were  taken  by  Rebel  signal  officers,  were  captured  by 
Sherman  on  his  march  through  South  Carolina,  and  that  they  were  a 
faithful  transcript  of  Gillmore's  plans. 


286  A  WAR  DIARY. 

vantage."  Then  followed  certain  fictitious  messages,  sent 
by  an  orderly,  which  Terry  was  requested  to  transmit  by 
signal  to  Schimmelfening,  who  would  in  turn  send  a  reply, 
—  the  whole,  it  was  not  doubted,  to  be  read  as  before  by 
the  Eebel  signal  officer.  This  stratagem  was  to  help  on 
the  present  diversion.  Accordingly  there  soon  came  from 
Terry,  "  I  have  sent  you  the  thirty -pounder  Parrotts  and 
three  thousand  more  infantry ; "  and  there  went  back  to 
him,  "  I  have  received  and  placed  them  in  position  ;  the 
infantry  are  coming  up.  The  Eebel  infantry  fight  badly." 
This  was  followed  by  another  signal  from  Terry  of,  "  How 
many  more  infantry  do  you  want  ? "  and  a  reply,  "  I  have 
enough  to  whip  the  force  in  front  of  me ;  send  the  force 
around  as  agreed  upon."  Thus  full  of  his  device,  Schim 
melfening  started  for  the  enemy,  with  the  results  which 
have  been  given.  He  had  advanced  beyond  Haulover  Cut ; 
and,  although  it  was  no  part  of  his  instructions  to  bring  on 
a  fight,  he  had  assumed  a  threatening  attitude,  which,  but 
for  revelations  to  the  enemy  of  Gillmore's  real  purposes 
in  Florida  through  inexcusable  carelessness  at  the  signal 
stations,  might  have  weakened  the  enemy's  line  at  Olustee 
to  strengthen  it  on  the  Stono.  Had  not  the  enemy  cheated 
Gillmore,  he  might  have  cheated  the  enemy ;  though,  owing 
to  the  abandonment  of  the  diversion  for  so  many  days 
before  the  battle  of  Olustee,  even  this  is  doubtful.  Here 
was  one  conspicuous  instance  of  the  cross  and  vague  pur 
poses  which  paralyzed  effort  in  that  department.1 

1  Upon  an  inquiry  by  General  Terry  of  Turner,  General  Gillmore's 
chief  of  staff,  for  more  definite  instructions  as  to  the  purposes  of  this 
demonstration,  Turner  informed  him  that  all  the  information  he  had 
from  Gillmore  was,  that,  as  he  (Gillmore)  was  going  aboard  the  steamer 
for  Florida,  he  turned  to  Turner  and  said:  "Tell  Terry  to  make  a  demon 
stration  with  five  or  six  thousand  troops  on  John's  Island."  "This  is 
all,"  said  Turner,  "that  I  know."  Terry,  much  perplexed,  sought  advice 
from  others  in  vain.  He  was  compelled  to  grope  in  the  dark. 


SEA  ISLANDS   OFF  CHARLESTON.  287 

But  it  was  the  last ;  for  Gillmore  now  received  a  per 
emptory  order  to  wind  up  his  operations  in  the  Depart 
ment  of  the  South,  and  with  some  of  his  troops  report  to 
and  serve  under  General  B.  F.  Butler,  then  laboring  with 
the  enemy  on  the  James.  On  Morris  Island  some  show 
of  occupancy  was  still  to  be  kept  up,  —  some  perhaps  on 
Folly,  Cole,  and  Kiowah,  —  while  on  the  water  the  navy 
was  to  maintain  the  blockade  of  the  port. 

From  other  departments,  within  and  without  the  field 
of  military  operations,  we  received  exciting  reports.  The 
President  of  the  United  States  had  called  for  two  hundred 
thousand  troops,  and  ordered  a  draft  to  be  made  on  the 
10th  of  March.  There  also  came  news  from  Sherman,  who 
was  reported  in  the  Charleston  "  Mercury "  to  be  march 
ing  through  Jackson,  Mississippi,  with  a  body  of  men  on 
whose  caps  was  conspicuously  displayed  the  motto,  "  Mo 
bile  or  Hell !  "  And  there  was  a  report  also  that  the  Con 
federate  war-steamer  "  Alabama "  had  captured  a  North 
ern  clipper  in  the  East  Indies,  valued  at  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

But  the  enemy  was  not  idle  in  our  department.  One 
of  our  large  blockading  ships,  the  "  Housatonic,"  had  been 
utterly  destroyed  by  a  torpedo.  As  a  head-board  marks 
a  grave,  her  masts  above  the  water  pointed  to  where  she 
sank  at  her  anchorage.  The  hour  of  this  achievement 
was  after  eight  in  the  evening,  —  an  hour  when  the  officer 
of  the  deck  could  scarcely  make  out  that  something  like  a 
plank  was  moving  rapidly  towards  the  ship.  All  hands 
were  called,  and  the  cable  slipped ;  but  before  the  vessel 
could  move  she  was  struck  near  her  mizzen  chains.  An 
explosion  instantly  followed,  which  so  fairly  blew  off  the 
whole  stern  of  the  steamer  that  she  settled  immediately, 
and  in  a  few  moments  sank.  Some  lives  were  lost,  among 
whom  we  heard  of  the  captain's  clerk,  an  ensign,  and  two 


288  A  WAR  DIARY. 

or  three  men.  The  commander  was  blown  overboard,  but 
regained  the  rigging  of  the  ship  after  she  sank.  Others 
were  saved  by  boats  from  neighboring  vessels.  The  tor 
pedo  boat  —  in  shape  like  a  cigar  —  was  furnished  with 
an  iron  rod  projecting  from  its  bow,  on  the  extremity  of 
which  a  large  shell  containing  powder  was  secured,  de 
signed  so  as  to  ignite  by  concussion  with  a  vessel's  side. 

After  the  attempt  on  the  "New  Ironsides,"  and  the 
success  with  the  "  Housatonic,"  unusual  precautions  were 
taken  to  guard  against  this  formidable  danger.  Around 
the  "  Ironsides  "  boats  pulled  at  night,  and  a  steam-tug 
made  its  rounds;  while  a  calcium  light  with  a  large  re 
flector,  constantly  revolving,  threw  a  wide  beam  around. 
Thus  our  navy  hoped  to  hold  their  present  position  until 
some  strategic  movement  should  throw  Charleston  into 
our  hands;  and  until  then  I  doubt  if  any  naval  officer 
had  ever  seen  the  hour  when  he  would  attempt  to  run 
his  ship  into  that  harbor.  Commander  Eowan  of  the 
"  New  Ironsides  "  was  not  in  favor  of  making  the  effort. 
The  problem  had  at  last  become  one  of  staying  as  we  were. 
Practically  we  had  simply  assisted  the  navy  in  maintain 
ing  a  blockade ;  but,  as  it  was  put  by  an  intelligent  ob 
server,  "the  amount  of  money  disbursed  for  the  use  of 
all  the  unarmed  steamboats  used  as  transports  for  troops 
to  aid  the  navy  in  maintaining  the  blockade,  would  have 
supplied  enough  naval  armed  steamers  to  fence  in  every 
inlet  on  the  coast  of  this  department."  The  quartermaster- 
general  asserted  that  it  cost  more  to  maintain  this  depart 
ment,  while  it  returned  less,  than  any  other;  and  that 
more  stationery  was  used  within  it  than  in  any  other 
military  division.  There  is  a  red-tape  formality,  much 
writing  and  many  clerks,  where  military  achievements  are 
rare.  No  fighting  begets  much  writing.  Military  O'Trig- 
gers  at  "Washington  began  to  appreciate  this ;  and  even 


SEA  ISLANDS  OFF  CHARLESTON.  289 

Halleck  came  to  understand  that  to  continue  the  Depart 
ment  of  the  South  as  an  aggressive  one  was  a  folly  —  nay, 
more,  a  crime. 

The  7th  of  March  brought  with  it  the  last  night  of  my 
tent  home  on  that  island  of  desolation.  It  would  be 
strange  indeed  had  I  felt  any  regrets  at  leaving ;  certainly 
there  were  none.  But  I  had  passed  seven  long  months 
with  these  surroundings,  and  somehow  or  other  my  own 
individuality  took  something  from  those  familiar  objects, 
despite  the  cares  and  vexations  which  had  perplexed  me. 
I  had  scarcely  turned  my  back,  however,  before  I  found 
my  heart  thumping  with  excitement  as  I  looked  forward 
with  new  hopes  to  a  return  to  the  old  Army  of  the  Po 
tomac.1 

1  See  "Atlantic  Monthly,"  May,  1865,  Criticism  of  Gillmore's  Report 
of  Operations  in  1863-64,  Department  of  the  South. 


290  A  WAR  DIARY. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HILTON  HEAD.  —  FLORIDA.  —  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 

A  T  Hilton  Head,  in  South  Carolina,  on  the  18th  of 
-^""*-  March,  1864,  perfume  of  yellow  jessamine,  orange 
blossoms,  and  violets  filled  our  encampments,  penetrated 
the  negro  huts,  and  swept  over  abandoned  cotton-fields,  as 
lavish  in  its  delicious  fragrance  as  if  the  lords  of  the 
manors  were  the  owners  and  cultivators  of  the  old  Sea- 
Island  cotton  plantations  as  of  yore. 

But  a  few  miles  from  the  fortifications  which  Dupont 
captured  with  his  wooden  ships  there  was  a  plantation  of 
twelve  hundred  acres,  on  which  a  Northern  doctor  was 
trying  the  experiment  of  raising  cotton.  Between  rows  of 
negro  cabins  this  Northern  vandal  ambled  gently  to  the  de 
caying  mansion,  to  repose  under  the  shade  of  superb  live- 
oaks  with  their  drapery  of  Southern  moss,  or  to  slumber 
away  the  heat  of  noon-day  under  beautiful  magnolias  in 
the  yard.  It  may  be  true  that  the  occupier  of  this  domain 
deceived  himself;  that  with  these  remnants  of  baronial 
splendor,  these  trees,  negroes,  the  old  mansion,  and  the 
view  of  the  bay  from  the  embowered  porch,  he  was  beguiled 
into  indulging  delusive  hopes  and  dreams,  and  was  fain  to 
strut  awhile  in  his  new  robes  of  borrowed  splendor.  But 
there  was  a  death's  head  at  this  feast.  Near  him,  on  the 
left  of  his  fine  old  avenue,  there  was  an  encampment  of 
Yankee  soldiers,  with  its  attendant  bones  and  offal  of 
slaughtered  beeves  ;  and  within  his  halls  two  energetic, 


HILTON   HEAD.  291 

well-formulated  Yankee  schoolmarms  were  teaching  twenty 
young  negro  children  of  assorted  sizes  their  alphabet,  — 
violating  South  Carolina  law  on  South  Carolina  soil ;  while 
in  his  fields,  his  cotton-planting  ran  every  chance  of  prov 
ing  but  a  delusion  and  a  dream,  born  of  a  belief  that  a  freed- 
man  would  find  his  greatest  pleasure  in  working  for  reward. 
But  it  is  not  by  work  that  the  negro  is  made  content. 

For  instance,  Eichard  and  his  wife  Daphne  were  our 
servants.  The  former  had  been  the  slave  of  Lawyer  Tres- 
cott,  of  Charleston,  whom  Eichard  says  he  remembers  with 
affection ;  for  the  master  used  to  give  his  servant  money 
and  clothes,  and  would  "  back  him "  when  he  was  in 
trouble ;  but  now  Eichard  complained,  that  he  had  no 
time  to  himself !  Was  Eichard  a  philosopher,  that  he 
had  discovered  the  slavery  in  freedom ;  that,  though  the 
money  he  made  belonged  to  him,  necessity  was  a  harder 
taskmaster  than  his  owner  ? 

It  was  a  change,  and  a  bitter  one,  for  these  poor  negroes, 
who  had  to  learn  that  a  condition-  which  demanded  all 
their  earnings  in  return  for  food  and  raiment,  was  superior 
to  that  in  which  these  things  were  provided  for  them  as  a 
matter  of  course.  They  doubtless  looked  back  with  regret 
to  the  days  when  they  had  spare  hours,  gifts  of  money, 
and  an  opportunity  to  turn  a  penny  by  raising  a  few  vege 
tables,  and  all  the  more  that  now  they  had  to  work  hard 
merely  to  support  themselves.  Freedom  brought  with  it 
new  cares  and  rigorous  responsibilities,  and  must  at  first 
have  seemed  to  them  less  attractive  than  they  had  thought 
it  to  be  from  the  accounts  of  those  who  spoke  of  nothing 
but  its  dignity. 

Troops  were  arriving  from  Morris  and  from  Folly  islands 
and  from  Jacksonville  to  sail  away  with  Gillmore,  who, 
with  the  Tenth  Army  Corps,  was  to  report,  as  we  have 
seen,  to  Benjamin  F.  Butler  at  Fortress  Monroe.  Gillmore 


292  A  WAR  DIARY. 

was  crestfallen.  His  nomination  to  be  a  major-general  of 
volunteers  was  suspended  in  the  Senate  by  senators  who 
declared  that  he  had  done  nothing  worthy  of  promotion. 
Shades  of  Sumter  not  battered  down ;  spirits  of  Greek  fire 
within  the  city  of  Charleston  not  destroyed ;  echoes  of 
Parrot  guns,  two  and  three  hundred-pounders,  uselessly 
discharged ;  the  blood  and  disgrace  of  the  Florida  cam 
paign,  —  these  all  had  been  transformed  into  a  bubbling 
cauldron  of  toil  and  trouble,  from  which  spectres  were 
arising  to  "  break  the  word  of  promise  to  our  hope." 

Great  excitement  centred  upon  the  question,  who  was  to 
go  to  the  Army  of  the  James,  and  who  remain.  Steamers 
crowded  the  port.  The  old  "  Ericsson  "  was  there,  but  her 
four  smoke-pipes  and  her  caloric  engines  had  been  adapted 
to  steam.  The  ship  was  dirty,  dirtier  even  than  a  troop 
ship,  and  she  was  slow.  On  the  twenty-fourth  she  sailed 
with  troops,  and  on  the  twenty-eighth  troops  were  still  leav 
ing  the  department.  The  "Arago  "  was  lying  off  the  dock ; 
river  steamers  with  soldiers  on  board  were  in  the  stream ; 
the  "  Ben  Deford "  sailed ;  and  at  last  all  had  gone  save 
the  few  who  were  to  leave  on  the  "  Arago  "  with  Gillmore. 
On  the  night  of  the  1st  of  May  the  "  Arago  "  sailed,  and 
Gillmore's  life  and  administration  within  these  waters 
was  a  thing  of  the  past. 

General  J.  P.  Hatch  was  left  in  command.  Acting  on 
the  advice  of  Gillmore,  Hatch  had  ordered  me  to  proceed 
at  once  to  Jacksonville,  Florida,  to  relieve  General  Birney 
and  take  command  of  military  operations  within  that 
State.  Hatch  was  an  old  army  friend  of  mine,  a  thorough 
soldier,  and  a  gentleman.  But  Hatch  was  also  stubborn. 
No  entreaty  on  my  part  could  move  him  to  reconsider 
his  order. 

The  cotton  was  just  appearing  above  the  ground.  In  a 
ride  around  Hilton  Head,  I  saw  a  negro  woman  trudging 


FLORIDA.  293 

along  with  a  load  on  her  head,  and  asked  her  if  she  was 
sorry  her  master  had  run  away  from  her.  "No,"  she 
replied,  "  I  am  not ;  for  now  I  have  time  to  sit  down." 
The  bodies  of  two  conscripts  who  had  just  been  shot  for 
desertion  came  next  in  view.  They  lay  dead  by  their 
coffins,  while  the  troops  (I  think  they  belonged  to  a  Con 
necticut  regiment)  were  marching  by  to  look  upon  the 
unhappy  victims  of  military  law. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  2d  of  May  I  went  over  to  St. 
Helena  Island.  A  rather  famous  plantation  of  thirteen 
hundred  acres,  with  all  the  buildings  thereon, —  mansion- 
house,  negro  huts,  and  stables,  —  had  been  purchased  at  a 
tax  sale,  two  years  before,  by  a  son  of  New  England,  for 
fifteen  hundred  dollars.  No  furniture  was  found  in  the 
house,  —  that  had  been  stolen  after  the  flight  of  the  family, 
—  but  the  walls  were  still  embellished  with  family  por 
traits,  in  which  the  old  men  and  women  looked  grave  and 
severe,  the  young  ones  simpering  and  helpless.  The  females, 
taken  in  light  silks  and  set  off  with  bouquets  and  roses,  in 
attitudes  of  sweet  simplicity,  passed  with  the  estate  into 
the  possession  of  its  Yankee  occupant,  by  purchase  from 
the  tax  commissioner  at  forty  cents  a  head.  Our  Northern 
planter  with  a  Yankee  wife  lived  meanwhile  on  this  South 
ern  plantation,  worked  the  negroes  on  his  land,  raised  a 
'  goodly  amount  of  cotton,  and  gathered  beautiful  roses  from 
a  garden  in  which  rare  varieties  bloomed  for  those  who 
would  look  in  vain  for  smiles  from  the  fugitives  who  set 
them  there. 

There  was  no  time  to  linger  over  changes  which  this  war 
had  wrought  in  Southern  homes,  for  I  was  off  for  Florida, 
touching  first  at  Fernandina,  where  I  carefully  examined 
Fort  Clinch,  in  charge  of  Captain  Sears,  of  the  New  York 
Volunteer  Engineers,  and  arrived  at  Jacksonville  at  twelve 
noon  on  the  7th  of  May. 


294  A  WAR  DIAEY. 

As  near  as  could  be  estimated  (and  this  was  afterwards 
confirmed  by  reports  from  scouts  and  deserters),  the  entire 
Rebel  force  within  the  State  numbered  about  three  thou 
sand  men.  Finnigan's  brigade  of  infantry  —  consisting  of 
Martin's  and  Brevard' s  battalions,  the  Sixty-fourth  Georgia, 
and  Bowman's  battalion  —  numbered  fourteen  hundred 
and  forty,  while  two  cavalry  regiments  (Georgians  and  the 
Second  Florida),  three  batteries  of  artillery  of  four  pieces 
each,  and  seventy  men  made  up  the  remaining  fifteen  hun 
dred  and  sixty.  These  troops  were  stationed  at  different 
points,  and  were  occupied  with  various  duties.  Detach 
ments  of  cavalry,  engaged  in  offensive  operations,  were  at 
Pilatka,  under  command  of  Captains  Dickerson  and  Gra$ ; 
infantry  regiments  guarded  railroad  bridges  from  Baldwin 
to  Cedar  Keys  and  to  Tallahassee,  reclaimed  deserters  in 
the  counties  of  Orange,  Brevard,  and  Alachua,  or  wherever 
else  a  strong  Union  sentiment  prevailed,  and  gathered  cat 
tle  and  agricultural  products  in  the  counties  of  Brevard, 
Hillsborough,  Monroe,  Polk,  Marion,  and  Sumter.  Here 
tofore  a  noted  Eebel  cattle  agent  had  been  able  to  gather 
the  beeves  required  for  the  Rebel  arnly  at  his  residence 
near  Lake  Ware,  to  be  driven  to  Georgia.  But  because  of 
the  activity  of  the  Federals,  or  the  hostility  of  Union  men 
in  Florida,  the  aid  of  troops  had  become  a  necessity.  At 
Camp  Milton,  a  short  distance  east  of  Baldwin,  the  largest 
body  of  Rebel  troops  within  the  State  held  a  line  of  strong 
works  under  the  command  of  Patton,  Anderson,  Major- 
General  commanding  the  military  District  of  Florida.  So 
far  as  I  could  get  reliable  information,  their  number  *was 
about  six  hundred  men,  with  artillery.  At  Baldwin  there 
was  artillery,  but  no  infantry.  At  a  trestle  bridge  across 
the  St.  Mary's,  negroes  were  throwing  up  fortifications. 
Some  State  troops,  raised  for  the  defence  of  the  State, 
were  expected  at  Camp  Milton  by  the  1st  of  June.  Three 


FLORIDA.  295 

companies  were  already  raised,  and  two  thousand  men  in 
all  were  hoped  for.  In  addition  to  these  there  were  Rebel 
pickets  at  Green  and  Cove  springs,  and  a  body  of  one  hun 
dred  men  near  Doctor's  Lake,  so  called,  engaged  in  placing 
torpedoes  in  the  St.  John's.  On  the  1st  of  May  these  men 
had  set  fourteen  adrift,  and  had  twelve  more  in  readiness. 

I  was  hardly  seated  in  my  office  before  I  had  another 
proof  of  the  value  of  torpedoes,  in  the  fate  of  our  boats  on 
the  St.  John's.  The  "  Harriet  Ward  "  was  the  first  victim. 
She  was  struck  by  this  infernal  machine,  and  sank  in  the 
channel ;  five  men  were  killed  and  wounded.  The  steamer 
"  Boston,"  with  a  large  number  of  men  and  women  on 
board,  just  in  advance,  had  haply  passed  unharmed.  The 
captain  of  the  t(  Ward "  reported  his  misfortune  to  me 
while  the  coal-dust  was  still  in  his  hair  and  the  cry  of  his 
mates  still  ringing  in  his  ears.  Who  would  come  next  ? 
How  were  we  to  navigate  these  waters  ?  —  and  yet  upon 
them  we  depended  for  communication  within  and  without. 
These  questions  I  discussed  with  the  captain,  with  a  view 
of  constructing  some  sort  of  invention  to  catch  torpedoes 
and  outwit  the  Rebels ;  but  our  efforts  were  in  vain,  and 
we  were  obliged  to  take  our  chances,  with  the  pleasant 
feeling  that  at  any  moment  we  might  find  ourselves  blown 
high  in  air  or  struggling  in  the  waters  of  the  St.  John's. 

Meanwhile  loyal  Floridians  flocked  to  my  headquarters. 
The  sufferings  of  Union  men  moved  me  to  the  extreme  of 
patience.  They  had  lived  in  swamps,  where  they  had 
suffered  untold  horrors;  their  families  had  hungered  for 
food,  and  their  relatives  had  been  hung  :  they  were  willing 
to  fight  for  the  Union.  Women  suffered  alike  with  men. 
Jacksonville  had  been  a  Union  city ;  it  had  been  occupied 
by  Northerners,  some  of  whom,  however,  were  more  rebel 
lious  than  the  Southern  born.  It  was  a  Northern  man 
with  a  Southern  wife  who  drew  up  the  ordinance  under 


296  A  WAR  DIARY. 

which  Florida  seceded  from  the  Union;  and  they  were 
Northern  men  who  burned  the  buildings  of  those  who 
refused  to  give  aid  to  Southern  armies  in  their  rebellious 
war.  Now  the  hour  for  vengeance  had  come.  Long  lists 
of  names  of  those  who  were  willing  to  enroll  themselves  in 
our  army  —  some  plucky  to  the  last,  others  cowed  and 
intimidated  —  were  handed  in  to  my  headquarters.  The 
stories  of  their  sufferings  were  incredible,  the  romance  of 
their  lives  wonderful.  From  among  those  who  were  will 
ing  to  do  the  State  some  service  as  scouts  and  in  burning 
bridges  that  were  of  use  to  the  enemy's  communications, 
I  armed  and  organized  twenty-one;  while  from  those 
whose  practices  and  experiences  had  been  confined  to  the 
more  difficult  methods  of  statecraft,  I  entertained  plans  for 
bringing  the  State  back  into  the  Union,  through  a  conven 
tion  of  such  loyal  citizens  as  should  first  be  submitted  for 
approval. 

Of  the  United  States  troops  in  this  department  the 
7th  Colored,  the  144th  New  York,  107th  Ohio,  3d  Colored 
(acting  as  heavy  artillerists),  Battery  A  3d  Ehode  Island 
(six  guns),  four  companies  of  mounted  infantry  from  the 
75th  Ohio,  and  three  mounted  companies  from  the  35th 
Colored,  were  stationed  at  Jacksonville.  Four  companies 
of  the  157th  New  York,  two  of  the  8th,  and  seven  of  the 
35th  United  States  Colored,  were  at  and  near  Picolata  on 
the  St.  John's.  At  St.  Augustine  the  17th  Connecticut  was 
stationed,  with  small  bodies  thrown  out  to  the  St.  John's, 
of  whom  fifty  men  were  at  Volusia,  fifteen  at  Sanders  to 
the  north,  and  fifteen  at  Welaka  to  the  south.  At  Smyrna, 
fifteen  mounted  men  of  the  157th  New  York  Infantry  were 
guarding  captured  cotton.  At  Yellow  Bluff  there  were 
seven  companies  of  the  5th,  and  at  St.  John's  Bluff  one  of 
the  8th  United  States  Colored  Infantry;  while  between 
Enterprise,  Volusia,  and  Smyrna,  six  mounted  companies 


FLORIDA.  297 

of  the  75th  Ohio,  under  Colonel  Harris,  were  raiding  after 
cattle.  To  watch  all  these  posts ;  to  familiarize  myself 
with  all  the  territory  we  held,  confined  as  it  was  mainly 
to  the  eastern  bank  of  the  St.  John's  Eiver ;  to  hold  fre 
quent  interviews  with  Floridians,  loyal  and  disloyal,  with 
rebellious  women  of  Massachusetts  origin,  with  detec 
tives, — one  of  whom  was  a  long.  South  Carolina  parson 
transplanted  to  Florida,  an  itinerant  of  the  Church  Mili 
tant,  and  another  a  farmer,  whose  cattle  had  been  taken 
by  Southern  commissaries  from  his  pastures  and  his 
yards ;  to  look  after  my  vedettes ;  to  patrol  the  river 
at  night  for  torpedoes;  to  forecast  Presidential  action  in 
utilizing  the  orange  groves  and  the  cotton  lands,  the  lum 
ber  and  the  logs  of  this  land  of  sun  and  flowers,  —  to 
do  all  this,  the  reader  will  readily  believe  brought  very 
busy  days  to  me. 

To  St.  Augustine  from  Jacksonville  is  forty-one  miles  by 
land.  Over  the  road,  under  the  pines,  it  was  a  desolate, 
wild,  and  solemn  ride.  My  horse  measured  it  in  exactly 
five  hours.  It  was  on  the  14th  of  May  that  I  drew  rein 
under  the  shade  of  trees  from  which  hung  in  rich  profusion 
oranges,  figs,  bananas,  and  pomegranates,  within  that  quaint 
old  Spanish  town  of  St.  Augustine,  with  its  narrow  streets, 
ample  balustrades,  and  old  fort ;  with  its  mysterious  dun 
geons,  which  yet  bore  witness  to  the  torture  inflicted  (so 
says  tradition)  by  the  cruel  Spaniards  upon  their  prisoners. 
For  a  single  night  I  enjoyed  the  hospitality  which  this 
luxurious  climate  enabled  our  officers  to  bestow,  and  then 
galloped  away  in  the  morning  to  Picolata,  with  the  delicious 
melodies  of  some  of  the  daughters  of  the th  regi 
ment  still  ringing  in  my  ears  as  I  threaded  the  inevitable 
pine  forest  and  passed  the  miserable  huts,  called  settle 
ments,  in  my  course  to  the  St.  John's.  From  the  15th  to 
the  21st  of  May  my  time  was  taken  up  with  the  exami- 


298  A  WAR  DIARY. 

nation  of  deserters,  many  of  whom  came  over  from  the 
western  bank  of  the  river ;  with  the  organization  of  small 
scouting  parties,  to  burn  bridges  or  to  break  up  the 
enemy's  communications  ;  with  the  removal  of  cotton  from 
Smyrna;  with  the  preparation  of  an  imperfect  torpedo- 
catcher;  with  reviews  of  troops,  conferences  with  the 
provost-marshal,  devising  new  and  better  police  and  sani 
tary  measures ;  with  organization  of  a  court  for  civil  ad 
ministration  ;  with  oaths  of  allegiance ;  with  calling  a  con 
vention  to  send  delegates  to  the  National  Conference  for  a 
Presidential  nomination ;  with  listening  to  music,  salutes, 
and  exultation  for  victories  under  Grant  in  Virginia,  of 
which  we  heard  on  the  19th  of  May;  with  revising  a 
printed  memorial  from  citizens  to  the  President,  asking 
protection  and  permanent  occupation  of  the  State ;  with 
hearing  arguments  by  lumbermen  of  the  immense  fortunes 
to  be  made  if  the  port  of  Jacksonville  were  thrown  open 
to  the  world ;  with  endeavoring  to  foresee  the  effect  upon 
Northern  minds  when  they  should  learn  that  sweet  oranges 
might  be  grown  at  Mandarin  and  elsewhere,  twelve  hun 
dred  to  a  tree  ;  with  providing  schools  for  the  town  ;  with 
a  vain  effort  to  drive  the  laziness  out  of  natives  whose  sole 
ambition  was  satisfied  by  the  ownership  of  a  few  cattle  that 
fed,  summer  and  winter,  on  grass  which  cost  nothing,  and 
of  hogs  which  cost  less,  and  of  a  few  acres  of  corn  requir 
ing  but  little  labor  to  ripen ;  and  last,  but  most  essential  of 
all  things,  with  a  gun  and  ammunition  for  the  hunt. 

On  the  twenty-first,  however,  hostile  movements  upon 
my  picket  stations  called  for  greater  activity  on  the  upper 
waters  of  the  St.  John's.  Colonel  Noble,  commanding  all 
the  forces  east  of  the  river,  wrote  from  St.  Augustine  on  the 
twentieth  that  the  Eebel  cavalry  officers  —  Dickerson  and 
Gray  —  had  crossed  the  river  and  made  prisoners  a  captain 
and  twenty  men  at  Welaka.  The  Colonel  had  ordered 


FLORIDA.  299 

Colonel  Harris  to  push  forward  with  cavalry  to  protect  our 
posts  at  Volusia,  Enterprise,  and  Sanders  on  the  river,  and 
Colonel  Beecher  to  occupy  Welaka,  Horse  Landing,  and 
south  to  the  mouth  of  Dunn's  Creek.  A  raid  within  that 
domain  which  furnished  our  political  supplies  for  conven 
tions,  petitions,  delegations,  Union  meetings,  and  so  forth ! 
—  this  would  never  do.  But  there  was  still  more  to  come. 
Another  communication  from  Colonel  Noble,  received  at 
eleven  at  night,  startled  me  with  the  report  that  a  small 
body  of  our  troops  had  been  captured  at  another  station; 
and  that  the  enemy,  four  hundred  strong,  were  marching 
northward  on  our  side  of  the  river.  Directing  Colonel 
Noble  to  withdraw  his  men  from  the  St.  John's  opposite 
Volusia  and  Sanders,  I  started  in  an  hour  on  the  steamer 
"  Houghton "  for  the  nearest  point  threatened.  From 
Jacksonville  I  carried  two  hundred  men.  By  the  kindness 
of  Captain  Balch,  my  old  friend  of  the  Stono,  I  was  accom 
panied  by  two  gunboats,  the  "  Ottawa  "  and  a  little  steam 
launch  named  the  "  Columbine."  At  Picolata  I  increased 
my  force  by  six  companies  of  Colonel  Beecher's  regiment 
and  all  the  available  men  of  the  157th  New  York  Volunteers, 
until  the  whole  numbered  between  six  hundred  and  fifty 
and  seven  hundred  men.  At  the  same  place  I  filled  bags 
with  sand  for  the  protection  of  the  troops  on  the  "  Colum 
bine  "  (there  were  no  cotton  bales,  and  but  one  of  hay)  on 
her  trip  through  the  narrow  passes  of  the  river  to  Volusia. 
These  preparations  caused  so  much  delay  that  we  did 
not  reach  the  landing  opposite  Pilatka  until  the  afternoon 
of  the  twenty-second.  At  this  point  the  river  begins  to 
narrow  so  rapidly,  that  in  following  it  with  the  boats  the 
men  would  have  been  unnecessarily  exposed.  By  march 
ing  the  troops  inland  to  Volusia  through  the  forest,  and 
sending  a  gunboat  up  the  river  to  cut  off  retreating  Eebels, 
we  should  have  them  between  the  ocean  and  the  St.  John's. 


300  A  WAR  DIARY. 

Acting  on  this  plan,  I  directed  the  "  Columbine "  to  pro 
ceed  to  Volusia,  and  as  much  further  as  her  services  might 
be  required.  With  a  guard  of  two  officers  and  twenty-five 
men  from  Colonel  Beecher's  regiment,  and  his  small  naval 
force,  the  daring  commander  of  this  little  craft  went  on, 
accompanied  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  Dunn's  Creek  by  the 
"  Ottawa  "  under  Commander  Breese,  who  was  ready  and 
willing  to  afford  all  possible  protection  both  to  the  launch 
and  to  the  "  Houghton."  I  told  him  that  I  intended  to 
push  forward  towards  Volusia,  and  to  assist  the  commander 
of  the  "  Columbine  "  as  soon  as  I  could  reach  him ;  adding 
that  I  should  not  regard  the  discharge  of  artillery  as  an 
indication  of  his  being  in  danger,  while  he  in  turn  agreed 
with  me  to  throw  up  a  rocket  if  he  required  assistance. 

All  these  proceedings  were  in  full  view  of  the  enemy, 
who,  concealed  behind  his  leafy  cover  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  river  in  and  near  Pilatka,  had  prepared  to  receive  us 
with  batteries  of  artillery  as  soon  as  ever  our  boats,  crowded 
with  troops,  might  be  hopelessly  entangled  in  the  narrow 
reaches  of  the  St.  John's.  Notwithstanding  his  chagrin 
at  my  disembarkation  below,  the  enemy  opened  upon  the 
gunboats  after  the  "  Columbine  "  had  passed,  keeping  up 
a  spirited  fire  until  finally  driven  off.  So  far  it  was  well 
with  the  little  "  Columbine."  I  directed  my  march  towards 
the  place  where  the  road  from  St.  Augustine  crosses  Haw 
Creek,  and  thence  pushed  on  to  Volusia.  At  Haw  Creek 
I  had  ordered  Colonel  Noble,  with  all  his  available  infantry 
and  cavalry,  to  meet  me. 

At  four  o'clock  on  Sunday  afternoon,  the  22d  of  May, 
we  moved  out  from  under  the  shade  of  the  superb  oaks 
that  lined  the  banks  of  the  river.  It  was  a  late  start ;  but 
we  made  nine  miles,  halting  in  the  night  at  a  miserable 
hut  on  the  south  side  of  Haw  Creek,  where  I  slept  on  a 
floor  surrounded  by  negroes,  dogs,  cats,  and  babies.  I  found 


FLORIDA.  301 

the  creek  unfordable.  During  the  march  we  heard  a  great 
deal  of  artillery  firing  in  the  direction  of  the  mouth  of 
Dunn's  Creek ;  but  as  no  rockets  were  fired  and  no  de 
spatches  received,  I  presumed  that  the  gunboats  were 
engaged  in  the  not  uncommon  occupation  of  shelling  the 
woods. 

In  proceeding  further  on  Monday  morning,  a  guide  was 
a  necessity.  The  owner  of  an  adjoining  cabin  would  do ; 
he  was  a  fine-looking  man,  athletic  and  determined,  but  he 
would  not  serve  me.  It  was  useless  to  expostulate  with 
him,  or  to  entreat  him ;  go  he  would  not.  Nor  would  he 
reason  about  it.  Nothing  could  be  more  ridiculous  than 
that  this  single  man  should  defy  seven  hundred  soldiers 
drawn  up  before  his  miserable  hut ;  and  it  seemed  so  pre 
posterous  that  I  doubted  his  sincerity.  I  therefore  rode 
up  to  him,  so  near  that  I  could  hear  a  whisper ;  when, 
"  Take  me,"  he  said,  "  and  tie  me  by  force.  Use  force,  and 
I  will  go  with  you."  In  a  moment  the  truth  flashed  through 
my  mind.  He  was  surrounded  by  spies ;  any  offer  of  aid 
to  us  would  have  been  fatal  to  him  after  our  departure. 
We  therefore  adopted  his  suggestion  ;  went  through  a  great 
show  of  seizing  and  tying  him,  and  then,  lifting  him 
struggling  and  kicking  to  the  back  of  a  lively  mule,  with 
two  armed  men  on  either  side,  we  struck  out  for  the  for 
est  with  the  most  willing  Southerner  who  ever  guided  a 
Yankee  army  on  its  way.  A  better  Union  man,  a  truer 
guide,  or  a  more  interesting  fellow-traveller  I  never  found 
during  all  the  war.  That  day  we  made  thirty  miles. 
Through  the  woods  all  the  way,  over  a  perfectly  flat  coun 
try,  under  the  same  monotony  of  pines,  on  the  edges  of 
swamps  which  were  to  my  unskilled  vision  ever  the  same, 
over  paths  never  changing  in  aspect,  this  experienced 
hunter  led  us,  pointing  out  the  slightest  variations  which 
served  as  landmarks. 


302  A  WAR  DIARY. 

We  came  at  last  to  the  crossing  of  Haw  Creek,  beyond 
which  I  found  that  Colonel  Noble  had  pushed  his  infantry 
four  miles,  and  that  his  cavalry  was  at  Volusia.  The 
garrison  at  this  place  was  safe ;  but  the  two  small  posts  at 
Welaka  and  Sanders  had  shamefully  surrendered  without 
firing  a  gun.  There  was  no  enemy  on  our  side  of  the  river, 
though  the  country  people  were  much  excited,  affirming 
that  there  were  seven  hundred  Eebels  on  Haw  Creek. 
On  Tuesday,  the  twenty-fourth,  I  directed  the  cavalry  to 
drive  in  all  the  beef-cattle  that  could  be  found,  for  it  was 
well  known  that  they  were  being  gathered  for  Rebel  use ; 
also  to  send  word  to  the  "  Columbine  "  to  return.  The  in 
fantry  I  ordered  to  concentrate  in  camp  nine  miles  south 
of  St.  Augustine,  at  the  city  itself,  and  at  Picolata.  The 
troops  I  had  brought  from  Jacksonville  were  to  return 
there.  I  found  my  transport  steamer,  the  u  Houghton,"  at 
Orange  Mills.  In  the  fracas  of  Sunday  she  had  been 
struck  three  times  with  twelve-pound  shot  amidships  and 
near  her  walking-beam.  She  did  n't  like  it,  and  steamed 
down  the  river.  Here  I  heard  of  the  loss  of  the  naval 
steam-launch  "Columbine,"  and  the  capture  of  most  of 
those  on  board.  She  had  gone  up  safe  to  her  destination, 
and  safe  she  might  have  returned,  had  my  advice,  to  run 
only  by  night,  been  heeded.  But,  scorning  the  words  of 
a  landsman,  the  over-zealous  commander  came  to  grief 
opposite  Horse  Landing,  on  Monday,  the  twenty-third.  A 
Rebel  battery  had  been  so  posted  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
river  as  to  make  his  capture  a  certainty.  In  the  narrowest 
part  of  her  course  the  "  Columbine  "  met  her  doom.  The 
youthful  naval  commander  made  some  resistance,  but  in 
vain ;  for  his  rudder-chains  were  shot  away  by  a  raking 
fire  of  artillery,  his  decks  were  swept  fore  and  aft,  while  a 
brisk  musketry  fire  disabled  many  of  his  men.  The  situa 
tion  was  desperate,  and  nothing  was  left  but  to  surrender, 


FLORIDA.  303 

which  was  done,  although  a  few  escaped  and  made  their 
way  to  Haw  Creek  with  news  of  the  disaster. 

By  this  movement  I  confirmed  reports  that  there  was 
no  enemy  at  Camp  Finnigan ;  that  the  force  at  Camp 
Milton  numbered  six  hundred  effective  men  of  the  Second 
Florida  Cavalry  and  two  pieces  of  artillery ;  that  at  Bald 
win  there  were  no  troops  and  only  two  pieces  of  artillery  ; 
that  there  were  two  hundred  men  at  Pilatka,  and  two 
thousand  State  troops  expected  at  Camp  Milton ;  and  that 
Dunham's  light  battery  was  on  the  St.  John's,  near  Welaka, 
Sanders,  and  at  Horse  Landing. 

When  I  had  arrived  at  Jacksonville,  I  determined  to 
return  the  enemy's  attentions  by  a  raid  on  his  works  at 
Camp  Milton.  This  strongly-intrenched  camp  was  about 
eleven  miles  from  my  headquarters,  and  contained  the 
largest  body  of  troops  collected  at  a  single  station  in  the 
State.  This  defensive  work,  which  covered  the  railroad  to 
Lake  City  and  all  the  dirt  roads  that  ran  due  west  from 
Jacksonville,  was  constructed  after  the  Olustee  disaster  to 
oppose  marches  to  Baldwin  and  beyond.  I  knew  that  it 
would  be  very  difficult  to  capture  the  works  by  a  direct 
assault ;  but  I  discovered  from  scouts  and  from  deserters 
that  it  could  be  very  easily  turned. 

By  the  twenty-eighth  my  preparations  were  nearly  com 
plete.  Colonel  Noble,  with  a  command  numbering  twelve 
hundred  and  fifty-two,  collected  at  night  and  concentrated 
at  Jacksonville,  was  directed  to  effect  a  landing  at  the  in 
tersection  of  Cedar  with  McGirt's  Creek,  —  a  point  two 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  latter,  on  the  St.  John's  Eiver, 
and  easily  reached  by  boats  from  Jacksonville,  —  and 
thence  to  march  rapidly  before  morning  in  a  southwesterly 
direction  to  a  crossing  of  the  same  creek,  where,  turning 
northerly,  he  was  to  follow  it  up  until  he  had  gained  the 
rear  of  the  enemy's  line  of  intrenchments.  A  second 


304  A  WAR  DIARY. 

column  under  Colonel  Shaw,  numbering  twelve  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  men,  was  ordered  to  move  from  Jackson 
ville,  march  on  the  dirt  road  south  of  the  railroad,  and 
threaten  the  intrenched  line  in  front. 

Colonel  Noble,  with  assistance  from  naval  boats,  landed 
his  troops  and  began  his  march  at  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning  of  the  1st  of  June.  At  the  same  hour  Colonel 
Shaw  moved  out  from  Jacksonville.  The  front  and  rear  of 
the  enemy's  works  were  gained  at  about  the  same  time,  but 
too  late  to  capture  the  enemy.  We  saw  abundant  evidence 
of  his  hasty  flight  in  trestle-work  on  the  railroad  in  flames, 
in  stores  abandoned,  cooking  utensils  thrown  away,  and  in 
one  hundred  bushels  of  corn  involuntarily  issued  for  our 
use.  The  line  of  Rebel  fortifications  surprised  me  ;  it  was 
of  great  strength,  and  capable  of  offering  resistance  to  a 
very  large  force.  The  breastworks  were  made  of  huge  logs 
firmly  fastened  and  covered  with  earth.  At  the  base  the 
log  parapet  was  six  feet  in  width ;  at  the  top  three  feet. 
Field  artillery  could  have  made  but  little  impression  upon 
this  work.  The  stockades  were  composed  of  timber  from 
twelve  to  sixteen  inches  thick,  with  loop-holes  two  feet 
apart,  and  protected  at  the  base  by  dirt  thrown  up  from  a 
ditch,  which  covered  the  whole  line  of  works.  At  every 
fifty  yards  there  was  a  salient  or  re-entering  angle.  Two 
works  in  the  rear  for  artillery  had  been  erected;  they 
were  very  strong  and  most  elaborately  finished,  having 
a  sharpness  of  outline  almost  equal  to  masonry.  Guns 
on  these  works  completely  commanded  the  approach  from 
Jacksonville  by  rail.  The  line  as  I  have  described  it  ex 
tended  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  when  a  new  line  began. 
Across  the  dirt  road,  north  of  the  railroad,  the  works  were 
<3f  the  same  character  as  the  others,  save  that  in  addition 
to  stockades  there  were  platforms  and  embrasures  for 
artillery.  Here,  too,  the  defences  were  of  great  solidity 


FLORIDA.  305 

and  beautifully  finished.  These  defences  were  fired ;  the 
logs  burned  fiercely,  and  the  works  were  completely  demol 
ished.  Thus  not  only  was  the  labor  of  many  thousands 
of  men  for  many  weeks  rendered  utterly  useless,  but  one 
of  the  most  formidable  barriers  to  the  march  of  an  army 
to  Tallahassee  removed. 

The  column  that  moved  to  the  rear  was  strong  enough 
to  hold  its  own  against  any  force  it  was  likely  to  meet. 
As  it  moved  with  its  right  resting  on  the  creek,  it  gradu 
ally  opened  easy  communication  with  the  column  moving 
from  Jacksonville.  Not  even  an  attempt  was  made  by  the 
enemy  in  defence,  so  surprisingly  had  we  come  upon  him, 
so  rapidly  and  so  promptly  had  my  plans  been  executed. 

Having  accomplished  the  sole  object  of  the  movement, 
having  remained  from  twelve  to  twenty-four  hours  within 
the  enemy's  camp,  I  ordered,  on  the  morning  of  the  2d  of 
June,  a  return  to  Jacksonville.  As  the  troops  were  form 
ing,  the  enemy  made  a  demonstration  with  some  show  of 
numbers  and  a  heavy  skirmish  fire.  Keports  from  the 
front,  that  two  large  columns  of  the  enemy  were  passing 
to  the  rear  of  my  left,  moving  down  the  railroad  to  gain 
a  nasty  defile  at  Black  or  Cedar  Creek,  seemed  to  make 
it  a  work  of  prudence  to  hold  that  crossing  with  my  own 
troops ;  for  this  was  the  only  place  where  the  creek  was 
passable  on  my  line  of  communication  with  Jacksonville, 
where  I  had  left  but  four  hundred  men.  Colonel  Shaw 
was  directed  to  send  his  own  colored  regiment  rapidly  to 
the  creek,  and  Colonel  Noble  to  retire  to  within  one  mile 
therefrom, —  which  he  proceeded  to  do,  although  at  the 
time  the  enemy  were  falling  back  before  him.  The  posi 
tion  at  Cedar  Creek  secure,  I  halted  my  command,  and  the 
men  got  breakfast.  We  were  here  an  hour,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  the  enemy  again  appeared,  and  opened  with 
a  purposeless  skirmish  fire,  which  we  easily  silenced.  At 

20 


306  A  WAR  DIAEY. 

no  time  could  we  possibly  discover  the  actual  numbers 
before  us.  The  country  is  flat  and  wooded ;  and  one  must 
guess  as  to  the  strength  or  purposes  of  his  enemy.  In  the 
Seminole  war  our  officers  suffered  from  the  peculiar  adapt 
ability  of  the  country  to  concealment.  Major  Dade  and 
his  command  were  all  massacred  by  a  foe  in  ambush. 
Seymour  at  Olustee  moved  in  this  cribbed  and  confined 
forest  to  a  disaster  second  only  to  Dade's. 

We  reached  Jacksonville  at  dusk  of  the  2d  of  June. 
And  here  ended  my  Florida  campaign.  General  Birney 
had  returned  to  his  old  command;  and  I  was  ordered 
to  present  myself  in  person  to  the  Adjutant-General  at 
Washington. 

Once  more  on  the  steam-ship  "Arago,"  bowling  along 
off  the  Jersey  shore,  I  filled  my  lungs  with  fresh  and 
invigorating  air.  On  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  June  I 
was  at  Washington,  where  I  received  with  ill-concealed 
chagrin  an  order  to  report  in  person  to  Major-General 
Canby,  commanding  the  Military  Division  of  the  West 
Mississippi,  for  assignment  to  duty.  On  Sunday,  the 
eighteenth,  I  sailed  from  New  York  for  New  Orleans, 
where  I  arrived  on  the  twenty-sixth,  having  been  detained 
on  the  bar  for  twenty-four  hours.  Neither  waste  nor  deso 
lation  had  touched  the  plantations  and  cultivated  fields  on 
the  Lower  Mississippi,  though  most  of  the  Rebel  owners 
had  fled  from  their  stately  homes.  Near  the  city  the  New 
Orleans  barracks  came  in  view,  and  then  the  old  battle 
field  where  General  Jackson  won  renown.  Eighteen  years 
had  passed  since,  on  my  way  to  Mexico  with  General  Scott, 
I  had  drilled  my  company  of  Mounted  Riflemen  upon  that 
field,  lived  in  those  barracks,  and  galloped  with  my  com 
panions  to  the  St.  Charles  Hotel,  now  filled  with  Yankee 
officers,  within  that  city  where  Butler  once  reigned. 

New  Orleans  was   intensely  hot.      Charges  for  living 


MISSISSIPPI  RIVER.  307 

were  most  exorbitant;  room  without  board  at  the  St. 
Charles,  three  dollars  a  day ;  a  simple  breakfast  at  a  res 
taurant,  one  dollar ;  a  frugal  dinner,  two  dollars ;  two  small 
slices  of  dry  toast,  fifteen  cents ;  the  same  for  a  cup  of  tea 
or  coffee  ;  ten  cents  for  ice  and  butter ;  sixty  cents  for  one 
small  mutton  chop.  The  simplest  fare  cost  six  dollars  a 
day.  I  heard  of  money-making  and  corruption.  Perhaps 
the  officers  could  not  live  on  their  pay !  It  was  said 
that  Butler  allowed  his  civilian  brother  to  make  money 
by  the  purchase  of  unadvertised  property  at  enforced  sales  ; 
but  who  that  knows  Butler  will  believe  this  ? 

The  city  presented  an  •  appearance  of  great  activity. 
There  was  a  vast  deal  of  cotton  here ;  twenty-five  hundred 
bales  had  just  come  in,  —  the  property,  I  was  told,  of  those 
who  were  outside,  claiming  to  be  loyal  men.  So  might 
any  man  claim  to  be  loyal  who,  by  sending  his  cotton  to 
New  Orleans,  could  get  a  good  price  for  it  in  gold.  A  con 
vention  was  in  session  in  the  city  to  manufacture  a  Consti 
tution  for  the  State  on  its  readmission  to  the  Union.  A 
majority  of  the  members  were  policemen,  it  was  said,  and 
all  were  men  of  little  ability  and  less  honesty.  They 
were  then,  I  was  told,  discussing  a  constitutional  provision 
that  policemen  should  hold  office  during  good  behavior, 
and  receive  one  thousand  dollars  a  year ;  and  still  another, 
that  nine  hours  should  constitute  a  day's  labor  on  the  pub 
lic  works.  The  convention  held  its  meetings  in  the  City 
Hall,  a  large  stone  building,  in  which  over  the  President's 
head  stand  forth  in  bold  letters  the  words,  "  Louisiana ! 
the  first  returning  State.  Her  voice  is  liberty !  —  Major- 
General  N.  P.  Banks."  But  the  reign  of  Banks  was  over. 
The  fearful  fiasco  of  the  Red  River  campaign  had  been 
much  talked  about,  and  a  great  deal  of  scorn  was  ex 
pressed  for  Banks  and  his  generalship. 

On  the  2d  of  July  I  received  from  General  Canby  orders 


308  A   WAR   DIARY. 

to  report  to  Major-General  C.  C.  Washburn  at  Memphis, 
then  in  command  of  the  District  of  West  Tennessee. 
Special  instructions  accompanied  this  order.  Five  thou 
sand  troops  were  supposed  to  be  on  their  way  down  the 
river  to  Morganzia,  Louisiana,  by  virtue  of  orders  sent  to 
Washburn  on  the  28th  of  June.  It  was  Canby's  wish  that 
these  troops  should  be  sent,  if  needed,  to  the  support  of 
General  Steele,  whose  headquarters  were  at  Little  Eock. 
I  was  consequently  directed  to  keep  an  incessant  watch 
for  the  transports  carrying  this  command,  and  to  order 
them  to  return  to  the  mouth  of  White  Eiver  if  I  met  them 
below  that  point ;  but  if  above,  then  to  direct  them  to 
return  there.  The  use  to  be  made  of  this  command  was 
specified.  If  General  Steele's  communications  were  en 
dangered,  —  of  which  I  should  be  informed  by  the  officer 
commanding  the  naval  district,  —  I  was  to  proceed  up  the 
White  Eiver  and  use  the  troops  to  the  best  advantage. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  left  New  Orleans  for 
Memphis,  on  the  passenger  steamer  "  Olive  Branch," — a 
fine,  commodious  boat,  running  on  private  account  and 
risk  from  New  Orleans  to  St.  Louis.  Eiver  navigation  was 
not  secure.  Despite  the  efforts  of  all  our  gunboats  and  all 
our  land  forces  at  various  points,  it  was  seldom  that  a 
transport  escaped  a  severe  fire  from  Eebel  artillery  and 
musketry.  Whether  the  quality  of  Eebel  mercy  would  be 
strained  in  our  behalf  by  the  gentle  name  of  peace  which 
our  steamer  bore,  remained  to  be  seen.  The  captain,  at  all 
events,  did  not  rely  upon  it,  for  he  had  covered  his  bow 
and  his  boilers  with  huge  piles  of  cord-wood,  and  somewhat 
protected  the  forward  part  of  his  upper  deck  with  boxes  of 
hard  bread,  lest,  as  on  his  last  downward  trip,  he  should 
receive  salutations  from  Eebel  riflemen  along  the  river. 

On  Sunday,  the  third,  I  had  time  to  study  the  appear 
ance  of  those  who  were  making  this  perilous  passage  in  a 


MISSISSIPPI   RIVER. 


309 


flimsy  boat,  unarmed  and  unguarded  against  dangers 
which  might  burst  upon  us  from  the  wooded  cover  of  the 
bank,  or  at  any  bend  of  the  many  windings  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  where  the  channel  carries  one  into  the  very  arms  of 
a  waiting  foe.  At  various  points  said  to  be  dangerous 
there  were  gunboats  in  waiting  along  our  course;  but 
neither  in  strength  nor  numbers  could  they  be  of  much 
service  to  prevent  our  great  unwieldy  white-pine  transport 


GUNBOAT  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

from  being  riddled  with  musketry  or  with  artillery.  There 
were  along  the  river  certain  places  known  to  be  held  by 
the  enemy  in  strong  force,  and  these  it  would  be  necessary 
to  pass  at  night.  There  was  Marmaduke  with  five  thou 
sand  men  and  seventeen  pieces  of  artillery,  a  portion  only 
of  his  command,  who,  it  was  said,  had  blockaded  the  river 
between  the  mouths  of  the  Arkansas  and  the  White.  But 
all  such  threatened  ills  did  not  deter  a  dozen  women,  as 


310  A   WAR   DIARY. 

well  as  many  male  non-combatants,  from  rushing  into  pos 
sible  peril.  There  were  also  some  children  on  their  way 
to  St.  Louis  schools  ;  soldiers  going  home  for  a  brief  fur 
lough  ;  soldiers  discharged,  who  had  had  enough  of  it ; 
cotton  merchants  from  New  Orleans,  and  citizens  not  trav 
elling  for  amusement,  I  fancy.  In  every  state-room  there 
were  suggestive  notices  that  life-preservers  at  the  head 
of  each  mattress  "  can  be  put  on  like  jackets ; "  that  the 
doors  and  blinds  could  be  easily  lifted  off,  and  that  these 
would  save  from  drowning. 

On  Monday,  the  4th  of  July,  we  were  fifty  miles  above 
Natchez.  It  was  a  dangerous  neighborhood.  Near  a  point 
we  had  just  passed  our  boat  had  been  fired  at  on  her  last 
downward  trip  ;  but  now  we  went  unmolested  towards  an 
abrupt  bend  on  our  left,  thickly  wooded  to  the  water  line. 
On  our  right  a  gunboat  at  anchor  arrested  us  with  a  signal 
to  await  the  arrival  of  one  of  her  small  boats  with  a  commu 
nication.  This  proved  to  be  a  statement  that  the  enemy  in 
large  force,  with  infantry  and  artillery,  had  within  an  hour 
taken  possession  of  the  bend  of  the  river,  and  that  it  would 
be  very  dangerous  to  proceed.  Saying  this,  and  calling 
attention  to  a  long  line  of  fires  indicated  by  smoke  curling 
above  the  tree-tops,  the  officer  in  charge  returned  to  his 
gunboat,  leaving  us  to  the  counsels  of  our  own  unaided  wis 
dom.  In  this  extremity  the  captain  of  the  "  Olive  Branch  " 
consulted  my  pleasure  ;  for  it  was  well  understood  that  on 
all  transports  within  the  theatre  of  our  military  operations, 
or  when  engaged  in  the  transportation  of  troops,  the  highest 
officer  in  rank  assumed  command  of  the  vessel.  We  were 
as  yet  such  a  distance  from  the  entrance  to  the  channel 
which  was  to  be  followed  in  doubling  the  dangerous  point, 
that  there  was  ample  time  to  steam  away  to  the  gunboat, 
tie  up,  and  allow  it,  with  such  consorts  as  it  could  gather, 
to  try  their  mettle  upon  the  enemy.  Should  we  do  it,  or 


MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  311 

run  on  and  take  our  chances  ?  The  captain  thought  he 
could  pass  safely,  and  was  quite  willing  to  run ;  but  would 
do  as  I  ordered.  My  mind  was  instantly  made  up ;  and  I 
told  him  to  go  ahead.  In  less  time  than  I  can  write  it  the 
"  Olive  Branch  "  was  ready  for  action.  Women,  children, 
and  male  non-coinbatants  were  thrust  into  the  hold  below 
the  water-line ;  the  clerk  took  refuge  behind  his  safe,  the 
captain  and  pilots  behind  the  iron  gratings  in  the  pilot 
house,  while  those  whose  duty  it  was  to  appear  indifferent 
to  danger  remained  on  the  upper  deck  behind  a  parapet  of 
hard-bread  boxes.  Thus  defying  artillery  and  musketry, 
the  "  Olive  Branch  "  buckled  down  to  her  work.  Out  of 
her  huge  smoke-stacks  rolled  black  smoke  in  thick  clouds, 
out  of  her  steam-pipes  the  steam  puffed  from  her  high- 
pressure  engines,  until  the  water  spurted  from  her  bows  as 
she  tore  into  the  very  teeth  of  the  enemy,  sheered  grace 
fully  off  or  on  for  many  an  anxious  mile  as  the  tortuous 
channel  wound  its  course  around  the  point,  and  carried 
us  all,  unharmed  and  unmolested,  beyond  and  above  the 
wooded  bend.  That  there  was  an  enemy  in  our  path  was 
not  to  be  denied ;  yet  that  the  "  Olive  Branch "  was  in 
but  little  danger  from  any  organized  body  of  the  enemy 
operating  anywhere  on  the  Mississippi  Eiver  did  not, 
in  my  mind,  admit  of  doubt.  When  the  captain  paid 
such  little  heed  to  advices  from  the  gunboat,  and  was  un 
moved  by  camp-fires,  I  more  than  half  suspected  some 
understanding  with  the  enemy,  some  consideration  moving 
them  in  his  behalf.  I  hoped  he  knew  his  risk ;  I  doubted 
not  that  he  did.  Indeed,  we  saw  enough  to  know  that  prof 
itable  mercantile  relations  between  Northern  traders  and 
Southern  owners  of  cotton  and  merchandise  all  along  the 
Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  were  winked  at  by  Southern 
civil  and  military  authorities,  provided  those  engaged  in 
the  iniquity,  by  the  permission  of  Northern  civil  function- 


312  A   WAR   DIARY. 

aries  and  very  grim  Union  generals,  gave  as  a  considera 
tion  exchange  on  London  or  contraband  of  war.  "  Why," 
I  asked  in  amazement  of  our  captain,  "  Why  do  I  see 
under  the  very  noses  of  our  gunboats  small  river  steamers 
plying  up  and  down  the  Mississippi  and  all  the  lesser 
streams  and  bayous  in  its  valley,  stopping  at  small  towns 
and  villages,  where  all  the  life  to  be  seen  is  in  the  scowl 
ing,  ugly  faces  of  rascals  who  look  as  if  they  would  murder 
a  man  for  his  boots,  or  lying  at  night  near  some  settlement, 
with  their  cabins  aglow  with  lamps,  and  festive  sounds  of 
music  on  their  decks  ?  "  And  I  was  answered  that  through 
such  means  our  merchants  of  the  East  collected  Southern 
cotton  within  the  lines  of  Southern  Rebel  occupation,  often 
without  even  a  pretence  of  prior  purchase  by  Union  men, 
which  was  sometimes  needed  to  overcome  the  scruples  of 
honest  civil  or  military  authorities.  Such  purchase  indeed 
was  at  best  a  shallow  device,  and  never  worked  to  despoil 
the  Eebel  army  of  its  equivalent  return  of  contraband  of 
war.  The  methods  of  this  dishonest  business  were  revealed 
to  me  by  a  smart  cotton  trader  from  New  York,  which 
in"  his  case  consisted  of  a  purchase  in  New  York  some 
months  before  —  from  a  person  whose  home  and  whose 
cotton  were  within  Rebel  lines  —  of  several  bales  of 
cotton  at  eight  cents  per  pound.  The  next  step  in  the 
game  was  played  by  an  alien,  who  could  plead  exemption 
from  the  restrictions  of  trade  which  hamper  the  non-com 
batants  of  belligerents,  or,  that  failing,  could  deceive  an 
honest  Union  general  into  a  belief  of  ownership  through 
forged  and  fraudulent  bills  of  sale.  In  this  case  the  alien 
was  a  Frenchman,  who  willingly  agreed  to  land  the  cotton 
in  New  Orleans  as  his  own,  for  twenty  thousand  dollars. 
This  sum  was  paid,  and  the  New  Yorker  got  his  cotton. 

On  the  fifth,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  reached 
a  small  place  called  Columbia,  —  a  dangerous  point,  which 


MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  313 

was  invariably  passed  by  boats  at  night.  A  fortnight 
before,  the  Rebels  had  placed  guns  in  position  to  stop  the 
upward  passage  of  General  A.  J.  Smith  with  twelve  thou 
sand  men;  but  Smith  landed  below,  put  the  Rebels  to 
flight  by  threatening  their  rear,  and  impressed  them  with 
such  wholesome  convictions  of  the  determination  of  the 
Union  forces  to  keep  the  river  open,  that,  as  we  were 
informed  by  a  gunboat  off  the  point,  there  had  been  no 
renewal  of  the  hostile  occupation.  We  reached  the  mouth 
of  the  White  River  at  half  past  one  A.  M.,  of  the  sixth,  with 
out  having  received  a  sign  from  the  five  thousand  troops 
with  which  I  was  to  operate  on  that  stream.  They  had 
not  passed  me ;  for  every  boat  we  had  encountered,  whether 
by  night  or  by  day,  had  been  halted  and  questioned.  Nor 
had  they  left  Memphis.  Nothing  remained,  therefore,  but 
to  inquire  about  the  situation,  and  then  proceed  to  Mem 
phis  and  endeavor  to  collect  troops  for  further  action. 

The  commander  of  the  naval  fleet  off  the  mouth  of  the 
river  was  disturbed  in  his  slumbers  by  my  inquiries  at 
the  very  moment  of  my  arrival.  Steele's  communications, 
lie  informed  me,  were  not  threatened  by  the  enemy  at  this 
time ;  he  had  sent  him  yesterday  two  and  one  half  millions 
of  money  to  pay  troops  with.  A  Rebel  general  (Shelby) 
had,  however,  made  a  demonstration  on  the  Mississippi  near 
the  White  River  with  twenty-five  hundred  men,  and  had 
captured  and  destroyed  a  gunboat ;  but  the  guns  and  ma 
terial  had  been  recaptured  by  another  gunboat,  and  Shel 
by's  troops  had  been  driven  some  eight  or  nine  miles  back 
by  our  General  Carr,  to  Cache  River,  where  he  then  was. 
Then  there  was  the  Rebel  General  Marmaduke  with  eight 
thousand  men  and  forty-seven  pieces  of  artillery  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Arkansas  River,  extending  his  lines 
from  Red  Pine  Fork  to  a  point  about  eight  miles  from 
the  mouth,  intending  as  soon  as  he  could  to  close  both 


314  A  WAR  DIARY. 

the  Arkansas  and  White  Eiver ;  and  this  accounted  for  his 
disproportionate  amount  of  artillery,  and  for  the  twenty- 
pounder  Parrotts  among  his  pieces.  The  Rebel  General 
Price  was  also  at  hand,  with  an  intention,  so  the  naval 
officer  thought,  to  unite  with  Marmaduke  in  an  attack 
on  Steele,  but  not  until  the  waters  of  the  Arkansas  were 
low  enough  to  afford  a  better  opportunity  for  the  Rebels 
to  retreat  in  case  of  defeat.  Nothing  was  left  me  but  to 
proceed  to  Memphis  in  search  of  the  promised  infantry, 
en  route  to  Morganzia.  I  arrived  there  late  in  the  night 
of  the  sixth,  found  a  bed  at  the  Gayoso  House  at  two 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  seventh,  and  reported  early 
to  General  Washburn,  to  find  him  sick  in  bed,  and  to 
learn  that  he  had  no  troops  to  send  either  to  Morganzia 
or  to  White  'River. 

We  were  delayed  until  the  eighteenth  by  events  which 
were  not  under  our  control,  and  sailed  on  that  date  on  the 
steamer  "  Continental "  for  the  mouth  of  the  White  River. 
There  we  were  to  meet  one  brigade  of  infantry  and  two 
batteries  of  artillery,  with  the  possibility  of  securing  other 
troops  if  we  needed  them. 

The  days  I  had  spent  in  Memphis  had  been  dreary. 
We  had  heard  of  the  splendid  triumph  of  the  "  Kearsarge  " 
over  the  "  Alabama ; "  and  there  were  reports  of  Rebel  raids 
across  the  Potomac,  quotations  of  gold  at  two  hundred 
and  seventy,  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Secretary  Chase  and 
Mr.  Lincoln's  effort  to  fill  his  place  with  an  incompetent 
Mr.  Todd,  and  the  War  Secretary's  action  in  sustaining  a 
detective  named  Baker  in  his  infamous  charges  concerning 
the  male  and  female  operatives  in  the  printing  department 
of  the  Treasury,  —  these  and  more,  that  it  would  not  now 
be  wise  to  recall,  scarce  served  to  lighten  a  single  hour  of 
our  wretchedness. 

At  nine  at  night  the  "  swift  and  commodious  "  steamer 


MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  315 

"  Continental "  was  still  harrying  the  air  with  that  hideous 
sound  of  escaping  steani  which  precedes  the  moment  of 
departure.  A  single  plank  connected  the  outer  darkness 
with  the  brilliant  illumination  of  the  saloon.  Beyond  the 
glare  of  pine  torches  at  the  landing,  within  the  indistinct 
film  of  blackness  which  covered  the  streets,  the  houses, 
and  the  people,  human  figures  flitted  restlessly  around,  or 
squatted  feebly  on  their  hams,  idly  gazing  at  and  idly 
dreaming  of  anything  and  everything  that  came  athwart 
their  vision.  The  boat  was  crowded  with  passengers ; 
there  were  soldiers,  convalescents,  returning  to  their  com 
mands  j  citizens,  followers  of  such  fortune  as  might  fall 
to  them  from  the  wreck  and  ruin  of  their  fellows ;  and 
women,  young  and  old.  The  decks  were  even  more 
crowded,  —  cattle  and  hogs,  ammunition,  boxes  piled  up 
to  the  floor-boards  of  the  cabin  above,  and  a  very  heavy 
load  of  commissary  stores  heaped  in  that  confusion  which 
is  always  manifest  in  the  few  last  moments  before  a  boat's 
departure.  "What  a  freight  this  is,"  I  thought,  "to  ex 
pose  on  these  amiable  waters,  where  snags,  sawyers,  bars, 
fire,  and  exploded  boilers  have  enlisted  the  co-operative 
deviltry  of  man's  destructive  ingenuity."  And  what  that 
deviltry  was  capable  of  doing,  we  most  unexpectedly  real 
ized  in  the  last  moments  of  our  stay  at  Memphis.  As  the 
captain  was  about  giving  his  final  order  to  get  under  way, 
a  man  rushed  along  the  hurricane  deck,  jumped  to  the 
shore,  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness.  With  this  episode 
there  came  the  cry  of  "  Fire  !  "  and  then  a  yell  of  "  Shoot 
him  ! "  followed  by  a  glare  and  lighting  up  of  eager  faces, 
as  flames  began  to  lick  up  the  light  woodwork  which,  con 
necting  with  the  cabins  on  the  hurricane  deck,  held  the 
rope  controlling  the  rudder  from  the  pilot-house.  For  a 
moment  there  was  a  panic  among  the  passengers,  but  it 
was  soon  at  an  end,  and  an  orderly  movement  for  the 


316  A   WAR   DIARY. 

shore  was  arrested  with  the  cry  that  the  fire  was  out  and 
all  danger  passed.  A  slight  examination  revealed  that 
a  sponge  saturated  with  turpentine  had  been  crammed 
into  the  pine  guides  which  held  the  rudder-rope,  arid  set 
on  fire,  with  the  hope  that  when  the  boat  backed  into  the 
stream  the  flame  would  make  headway,  and  the  boat,  thus 
without  a  rudder,  would  be  beyond  control.  In  the  dark 
ness  of  that  night,  helplessly  afloat  on  the  turbulent  waters 
of  the  Mississippi,  with  ammunition  on  board,  and  under 
the  appalling  fear  of  flames,  the  result  to  man  and  beast 
would  have  been  too  dreadful  to  contemplate.  The  fiend 
who  made  this  attempt  escaped ;  but  the  "  Continental " 
survived  to  carry  us  without  further  adventure  to  our  des 
tination,  which  we  reached  at  eleven  the  next  night. 

On  the  21st  of  July,  with  a  brigade  of  infantry  and  one 
section  of  artillery  on  seven  transports,  I  began  the  ascent  of 
White  River,  under  convoy  of  four  gunboats,  for  the  occu 
pation  of  St.  Charles  Bluff.  Our  movement  was  very  slow, 
for  the  channel  was  tortuous  and  shallow  (a  scant  four 
and  one  half  feet  of  water  on  the  bars).  At  Little  Island 
we  were  several  hours  getting  over  the  bar;  the  fleet 
meanwhile  lay  at  anchor  in  the  river,  exposed  to  attacks 
from  an  irregular  force  that  infested  the  banks.  On  the 
twenty-third  we  approached  the  Bluff.  There  seemed  to  be 
an  understanding  between  the  Rebels  in  this  neighborhood 
and  the  pilots  of  our  transports,  for  the  latter  saluted  these 
gentry  with  a  white  handkerchief,  or  with  a  friendly  greet 
ing  when  near.  At  all  events  we  had  not  been  molested, 
nor  had  the  pilot  of  my  boat  been  fired  into  in  twenty-one 
previous  trips.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  were 
ready  to  land. 

A  reconnoissance  with  cavalry  under  General  Lee  was 
made,  but  no  enemy  discovered,  though  our  troops  were 
fired  at  by  one  of  our  own  gunboats  higher  up  towards 


MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  317 

DuvalTs  Bluff,  under  the  mistaken  impression  that  we 
were  the  enemy  whom  we  expected  to  find.  The  works 
at  St.  Charles  Bluff  had  been  erected  more  than  one  year 
previously  by  the  enemy  to  hold  the  river.  They  were 
extensive  and  strong.  The  line  was  crenellated  with  plat 
forms  for  artillery  in  the  salients,  and  ditches  and  parapets 
were  well  revetted.  The  abandonment  of  the  place  was 
probably  due  to  the  occupation  of  Arkansas  by  our  troops 
from  Missouri.  But  whatever  may  have  been  the  motive, 
I  was  saved  an  immense  amount  of  digging,  for  it  was  only 
necessary  to  throw  up  short  lines  to  complete  works  on  the 
most  important  positions. 

Picks  and  shovels  having  been  provided,  the  men  were 
soon  at  work,  while  in  the  mean  time  residents  were  inter 
viewed,  who  could  not,  it  seemed,  feel  too  thankful  for  this 
break  in  their  monotonous  lives.  A  peaceful-looking  old 
man,  originally  from  Pennsylvania,  withheld  nothing  he 
knew  ;  but  unfortunately  he  knew  nothing  which  he  might 
not  have  withheld  without  loss  to  us  or  fear  for  his  sur 
roundings.  The  poor  inhabitants  remained  to  meet  us ; 
but  the  chickens,  pigs,  cattle,  and  a  patriarchal  cock,  with 
a  most  sagacious  instinct,  had  fled  from  the  blandishments 
of  seven-foot  Indiana  volunteers  to  the  protection  which 
my  presence  afforded.  Here  I  awaited  the  expected  rein 
forcements  from  Vicksburg  and  the  establishment  of  an 
infantry  force  at  Prairie  Landing  to  protect  the  river,  which 
was  falling  rapidly  to  three  feet  on  the  bars.  Then,  under 
the  convoy  of  a  slow  Western  river  monitor  called  the 
"  Turtle,"  —  a  saurian  it  greatly  resembled  in  form  and 
movement,  —  we  made  in  thirty-six  hours  of  floating  what 
should  have  been  done  in  six  of  sailing,  and  arrived  after 
butting  the  points,  rubbing  the  bars,  and  jamming  the 
curves,  at  two  o'clock  p.  M.,  of  the  24th  of  July,  at  that 
delectable  abode  of  human  misery  stranded  at  what  is 


318  A  WAR  DIARY. 

known  as  "  the  mouth  of  White  Biver."  The  habitations, 
the  population,  and  the  surroundings  of  this  avenue  to  a 
Western  slave  State  differ  but  little  from  similar  points 
all  along  the  Mississippi.  A  half-dozen  wretched  log- 
houses  on  a  muddy  bank,  and  two  or  three  flat-boats  fitted 
up  as  stores  on  the  water  ;  heaps  of  damaged  corn,  bundles 
of  musty  hay,  and  miserable  refugees  sick  and  dying ; 
children,  motherless,  fatherless,  homeless,  a  dirty  bundle 
their  all ;  steamboats  overloaded  with  private  and  Govern 
ment  stores ;  a  few  dirty  soldiers  and  many  sick  ones ; 
officers  eating  at  soldiers'  tables  in  soldiers'  kitchens ;  ac 
cumulated  filth,  diarrhoea,  dysentery,  and  cholera,  —  these 
all  marked  and  characterized  the  low  and  foggy  spot  off 
which  three  gunboats  were  then  lying  to  protect  the  ave 
nue  to  Arkansas,  which  was  the  highway  to  Duvall's  Bluff, 
one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  up  a  river,  with  three  feet 
of  water  in  the  channel,  and  thence  forty  miles  to  Little 
Eock. 

We  did  not  get  flattering  accounts  of  our  army  in  Arkan 
sas.  Want  of  discipline,  want  of  police,  want  of  proper  civil 
and  military  administration,  corruption  and  drunkenness, 
unrestrained  liquor-selling,  contractors  and  quartermasters 
engaged  in  knavish  practices  (among  which  I  may  mention 
a  contract  to  cut  and  press  prairie  hay  for  the  Government 
at  thirty  dollars  a  ton,  for  which  the  man  was  offered,  so  he 
informed  me,  seven  thousand  dollars  in  Chicago),  —  these 
were  some  of  the  evils  that  threatened  the  efficiency  of  our 
army  there.  And  this  too  at  a  time  when  there  was  evi 
dence  of  remarkable  Eebel  activity  in  Arkansas  ;  of  Shelby's 
moving  from  Jacksonport  with  two  thousand  cavalry  and 
artillery  to  the  neighborhood  of  Little  Eed  Eiver,  where 
there  were  said  to  be  two  or  three  thousand  infantry  under 
a  General  Adams,  who  had  replaced  "one  McCrea,  arrested 
for  cotton  trading  with  "  truly  loyal  Yankees  ; "  of  Mar- 


MISSISSIPPI  RIVER.  319 

• 

maduke,  who  with  five  to  six  thousand  men  had  crossed 
the  Arkansas,  and  was  marching  northerly  towards  the 
White  Eiver ;  of  Fagan  at  Monticello,  with  six  or  eight 
thousand  cavalry ;  of  Price  with  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
men  at  Camden ;  of  Kirby  Smith  at  Shreveport,  and 
Buckner  with  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  thousand  men 
(Dick  Taylor's  late  command)  at  the  same  place ;  and  of 
attempts  to  close  the  White  River  with  batteries  as  soon 
as  infantry  could  be  brought  to  support  them  at  Crockett's 
Bluff,  at  Prairie  Landing  (twenty-five  miles  from  the 
mouth),  if  I  should  not  get  there  first,  and  at  St.  Charles, 
if  I  had  not  already  occupied  that  place. 

The  arrival  of  General  Bailey  from  Vicksburg,  on  the 
twenty-fifth,  with  but  eight  or  nine  hundred  of  the  twelve 
hundred  that  had  sailed,  filled  me  with  such  apprehensions 
of  disaster  that  I  sent  one  of  my  boats  in  search  of  the 
"  Clara  Bell,"  in  which  the  missing  men  had  taken  passage. 
Meanwhile  I  was  watching  eagerly  for  the  arrival  of  the 
much-needed  commissary  stores  and  ordnance  from  Mem 
phis.  During  this  wearisome  time  General  Bailey  was  a 
most  entertaining  companion.  He  told  me  of  the  com 
mencement,  methods  of  construction,  and  the  difficulties  he 
had  to  contend  with  in  building  his  successful  dam  on  the 
Red  River.  At  first  Banks  would  not  listen  to  him  ;  then 
Admiral  Porter  was  sceptical ;  but  at  last  every  prejudice 
gave  way  before  his  earnest  demonstration,  and  thus  a 
practical  mill-builder  saved  the  navy  from  probable  de 
struction.  The  26th  of  July  passed  without  news  from 
the  missing  steamer,  and  without  supplies  from  Memphis. 
Having  determined,  therefore,  to  await  them  no  longer,  I 
had  given  orders  to  my  boats  to  be  in  readiness  at  day 
light  of  the  twenty-seventh  to  take  us  up  on  the  morrow, 
when  I  was  aroused  at  night  by  news  that  the  steamer 
"  Gladiator,"  on  her  way  to  New  Orleans,  reported  heavy 


320  A   WAR  DIARY. 

fighting  at  Helena,  Arkansas,  and  that  our  loss  was  sixty 
or  seventy  in  killed.  A  change  in  my  plans  became  neces 
sary.  The  gunboat  "  Tyler  "  of  our  convoy  was  requested 
to  go  to  Helena ;  General  Bailey,  with  six  companies  of  the 
Sixth  Michigan  regiment,  was  despatched  to  St.  Charles, 
and  I  remained  to  await  the  arrival  of  expected  troops,  and 
to  put  them  to  such  uses  as  the  future  might  demand. 

Before  General  Bailey's  departure,  which  was  delayed 
until  the  afternoon  of  the  twenty-eighth,  the  supplies  from 
Memphis  had  arrived ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  convoy  had 
sailed  that  I  became  apprised  of  the  disaster  which  had 
overtaken  the  "  Clara  Bell"  and  the  missing  troops  on  board. 
AVith  four  companies  of  the  Sixth  Michigan,  their  equip 
ments  and  engineering  tools,  the  steamer,  it  appeared,  was 
passing  along  the  Arkansas  shore  at  a  point  forty  miles 
below  Napoleon,  when  a  Eebel  battery,  till  then  concealed, 
opened  with  a  rapid  fire  upon  the  boat  and  her  defenceless 
passengers.  With  shot-holes  clear  through  her  hull  below 
the  water-line,  with  the  troops  crowding  to  the  boat's  side 
farthest  from  the  point  of  attack  until  she  keeled  almost 
to  the  water's  edge,  she  made  for  the  Mississippi  shore, 
plunged  her  bows  into  the  mud,  and  exposed  to  the  Eebel 
battery  the  view  of  a  steamer  unloading  living  freight  with 
more  celerity  than  ever  before  known  on  that  river.  Out 
of  range,  the  soldiers  halted  and  took  counsel  of  affairs.  It 
was  thought  possible  to  plug  up  the  holes  and  continue 
the  passage ;  and  so  they  would  have  done,  had  not  the 
Rebels  changed  the  position  of  their  guns,  and  opened 
so  furiously  with  shells  that  the  boat  was  set  on  fire  and 
utterly  destroyed.  The  first  gun  had  been  fired  at  ten 
A.  M.,  and  at  two  p.  M.  the  "  Clara  Bell "  was  in  ashes. 
One  of  our  many  gunboats  went  to  the  steamer's  assistance, 
only  to  seek  her  own  safety  in  flight.  Some  ten  miles 
down  the  river  from  where  the  flames  were  destroying  the 


MISSISSIPPI  KIVER.  321 

last  vestige  of  their  boat,  the  Sixth  Michigan  soldiers  made 
their  way  to  where  a  gunboat  lay,  thence  they  re-embarked 
on  a  regular  passenger  steamer  from  New  Orleans,  and 
again  were  on  their  way  to  the  wooded  shore  which  hid 
the  Rebel  gunners.  Concealing  the  troops  and  so  dispos 
ing  his  lights  as  to  resemble  a  gunboat,  the  captain  passed 
safely  under  cover  of  night,  and  delivered  his  men  at  the 
mouth  of  the  White  River  without  further  illustration  of 
the  delightful  pastime  it  had  become  to  sail  the  waters 
of  the  Mississippi  or  its  confluents. 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  July,  at  three  o'clock,  I 
was  aroused  to  another  realization  of  this  shuttlecock  exist 
ence  by  an  aid  of  General  Canby's,  who  had  arrived  on  the 
steamer  "  Continental  "  bringing  me  orders  to  sail  with  my 
whole  command  for  Morganzia,  La.,  as  soon  as  I  should 
be  relieved  by  troops  to  be  sent  by  General  Washburn. 
On  the  1st  of  August  in  the  afternoon,  no  troops  having 
arrived  for  my  relief,  I  took  the  steamer  "  White  Cloud  " 
for  Memphis.  Since  my  occupation  of  St.  Charles  I  could 
say  with  truth  that  "peace  reigned  in  Warsaw."  Every 
steamer  from  these  waters,  reports  from  our  General  Lee, 
and  personal  inspection  by  General  Bailey  revealed  a  con 
dition  of  absolute  security,  save  in  a  single  instance  of  im 
potent  guerilla  firing  upon  our  boats  at  Prairie  Landing. 
Lee  had  sent  a  reconnoissance  to  the  Arkansas  River  and 
found  nothing  between  it  and  St.  Charles ;  nothing  at  Ar 
kansas  Post.  He  had  also  further  acquainted  himself  with 
the  position  of  all  the  Rebel  troops  in  Arkansas,  and  with 
the  fact  that  many  commanders  were  away  recruiting  men 
for  their  depleted  ranks.  The  good  effects  of  the  seizure 
of  St.  Charles  Bluff  were  also  testified  to  by  Generals  Lee 
and  Bailey,  who  were  persuaded  that  after  our  possession 
of  that  point  hostile  movements  were  abandoned  by  the 
enemy.  The  further  confirmation  of  this  belief  by  General 

21 


322  A  WAR  DIARY. 

Steele,  in  a  letter  to  me  written  on  the  26th  of  July,  with 
a  memorandum  of  the  position  of  Eebel  forces  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  resulted  in  the  conclusion  which  I  had  reached, 
that  I  should  be  justified  in  visiting  Memphis,  to  urge  upon 
General  Washburn  immediate  compliance  with  General 
Canby's  orders ;  for  only  thus  could  I,  with  proper  expedi 
tion,  report  for  the  new  field  awaiting  me. 

At  five  o'clock  of  the  3d  of  August  I  was  with  the  Gen 
eral  in  Memphis,  hearing  the  disagreeable  news  that  he 
had  no  troops  to  spare,  that  General  Sherman  had  ordered 
him  to  send  out  a  command  under  A.  J.  Smith  to  keep 
French  from  entering  Tennessee,  and  that  I  should  have  to 
wait  some  time  for  troops  to  relieve  my  command  on  the 
White  River.  Calling  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  Gen 
eral  Canby's  orders  were  peremptory,  and  that  I  might  be 
obliged  to  abandon  St.  Charles,  I  was  met  by  Washburn's 
assertions  that  he  was  under  Sherman's  orders  and  must 
obey  him ;  but  that  after  tea,  if  I  would  call  again,  he 
would  in  the  mean  time  confer  with  General  A.  J.  Smith 
and  give  me  an  answer.  This  he  did,  and  a  favorable  one, 
though  he  cut  down  my  demand  for  two  thousand  troops 
to  a  division  numbering  a  little  over  twelve  hundred  men 
and  two  sections  of  artillery.  I  suspected  that  this  small 
concession  was  due  to  new  light  which  broke  upon  him, 
as  upon  a  closer  inspection  of  his  military  status  he  found 
that  General  Canby  was  in  fact  empowered  to  order  Wash- 
burn's  troops  to  be  sent  wherever  he  desired.  At  my  so 
licitation  the  movement  of  this  division  began  as  soon  as 
the  steamers  had  coaled,  —  a  preliminary  which  I  made  it 
my  business  to  get  under  way  that  very  night. 

With  everything  in  training  for  an  early  start,  I  fell 
into  a  most  interesting  discussion  with  General  Washburn 
about  the  cotton  trade  between  rebellious  and  loyal  per 
sons  within  his  own  military  district.  The  General  was 


MISSISSIPPI  RIVER.  323 

anxious  to  put  a  stop  to  all  private  trade  in  cotton, 
reserving  the  buying  of  this  staple  for  the  exclusive  bene 
fit  of  the  United  States.  His  reasons  for  this  he  had  im 
parted  to  our  Government  in  a  long  communication  which 
he  read  to  me.  A  system  of  checks  and  balances  was  to 
be  so  arranged  that  dishonesty  and  bribery  should  be  impos 
sible  ;  and  the  Government  was  to  have  the  profit.  Out 
of  the  so-called  cotton  trade,  as  then  conducted,  came 
swindling,  dishonesty,  corruption,  and  violations  of  law,  of 
which  supplies  of  contraband  of  war  to  the  enemy  was  not 
the  least ;  all  private  rights  in  this  traffic  were  pernicious, 
and  the  permissive  clemency  of  the  Government  was  abused. 
Three  hundred  thousand  bales  of  cotton,  General  Washbum 
thought,  could  have  been  obtained  that  year,  which,  at  one 
dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  pound,  would  have  amounted  to 
seven  hundred  dollars  per  bale,  or  two  hundred  and  ten 
millions  of  dollars.  The  profit  on  this  sum  .would  have 
accrued  to  the  Government  if  private  trade  had  been  sup 
pressed.  But,  as  it  was,  much  of  this  cotton  was  sure  to 
find  its  way  to  our  lines  in  exchange  for  ammunition,  sup 
plies,  and  sterling  exchange.  There  was  at  that  time  but 
little  effort  made  to  exclude  Rebel  emissaries  from  our  lines 
on  the  Mississippi.  I  found  one  at  the  mouth  of  White 
Eiver,  who,  without  let  or  hindrance,  had  been  exchanging 
commodities  with  army  and  navy  commanders.  He  did 
not  wish  money  for  his  vegetables,  he  said,  he  would  take 
commissary  stores  ;  he  had  twelve  in  his  family  and  seven 
negroes,  whom  he  "  fed  precisely  as  he  fed  himself ; "  he 
was  a  Union  man ;  the  Eebels  knew  it,  and  would  not  inter 
fere  with  him ;  he  could  come  and  go  as  he  wished.  By 
such  drivelling  utterances  had  this  knave  so  imposed  upon 
a  gunboat  commander,  an  easy  and  hungry  man,  that  a  free 
passage  and  unlimited  smuggling  had  resulted  for  the  small 
consideration  of  green  corn  and  vegetables  for  gunboat  use. 


324  A  WAR  DIARY. 

NOT  was  this  the  only  result  of  maladministration  with 
in  this  region.  Every  day  I  discovered  the  evil  effects 
which  this  traffic  in  cotton  was  producing  in  both  branches 
of  our  service.  To  the  closed  eye  the  mouth  of  the 
White  River  was  nothing  but  a  Sahara,  a  stopping-place 
for  boats,  redolent  with  chills  and  fever  and  poverty ;  but 
to  the  open  eye  it  offered  a  most  promising  future  for  green 
backs.  So  thought  Major of  our  army,  an  ex-major, 

who  came,  saw,  and  resigned.  A  covered  flat-boat  (one 
among  the  many  mean- looking  craft,  roofed  over  head  and 
holding  goods  enough  to  supply  a  city,  owned  by  "  truly 
loyal  peddlers  "  wanting  "  facilities  ")  holding  a  bar,  loafing- 
room,  sleeping-rooms,  dining-room,  and  kitchen ;  a  second 
boat  for  a  store,  filled  with  cheap  goods ;  a  log-house  on 
shore  as  store  number  two ;  a  contract  with  our  Govern 
ment  to  supply  boats  on  White  Eiver  with  wood  at  three 
dollars  a  cord,  and  a  contract  with  negroes  (refugees)  to  cut 
it  on  Rebel  lands  at  one  dollar,  to  be  paid  in  goods ;  a  cot 
ton  field,  under  cover  of  United  States  gunboats,  of  more 
than  one  hundred  acres,  with  the  cotton  now  in  bloom,  and 
carefully  cultivated  by  contrabands  at  one  dollar  a  day  in 
goods, — these  were  the  tangible  fields  in  which  the  Major 
sought  compensation  for  that  sense  of  glory  which  makes 
it  "  sweet  for  one's  country  to  die."  No  more  for  him  the 
tented  field,  ear-piercing  fife,  and  army  muster-rolls ;  but 
instead  thereof  the  steamers  that  wanted  cord-wood,  seven 
or  eight  at  a  time,  to  ascend  White  River;  the  mouths 
that  wanted  feeding  while  waiting  for  boats;  the  soldiers 
and  negroes  and  Rebel  deserters  and  refugees  who  traded  at 
his  stores ;  the  cotton  which  found  its  way  out  from  Rebel 
fields  and  from  his  own ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  the  ene 
my's  desire  to  trade,  which  the  Major  found  more  pleasant 
and  profitable  than  danger  from  his  bullets.  For  all  that  any 
man  could  make  out  of  this  place  the  Major  was  the  man ; 


MISSISSIPPI  RIVER.  325 

but  he  was  not  the  only  man.  Movements  here  that  had 
seemed  strange  and  unintelligible  were  becoming  clear. 

I  had  seized  a  steamer  for  service  on  the  White  Eiver, 
much  to  the  regret  and  dismay  of  its  captain,  who  pleaded 
a  release  from  Government  use  as  a  reason  why  I  should 
relieve  him,  for  a  short  visit  to  his  home.  "  You  would 
not  believe  me,"  he  said,  "  if  I  told  you  that  I  have  been 
up  the  Eed  Eiver  by  permission  of  Abraham  Lincoln  on 
the  one  hand,  Jefferson  Davis,  Kirby  Smith,  and  other 
Eebel  characters  on  the  other,  for  cotton  to  be  delivered 
to  an  old  friend  or  partner  of  Lincoln's ;  but  it  is  true 
nevertheless."  General  Washburn  explained  this  enigma. 
The  traffic  was  allowed,  with  the  understanding  that  if  the 
Eebels  could  sell  their  cotton  they  would  evacuate  the 
region  which  held  it. 

Banks's  Eed  Eiver  expedition  was  solely  a  cotton  spec 
ulating  raid.  It  was  well  understood  that  all  the  cotton 
seized  by  the  troops  should  be  paid  for.  But  the  expedi 
tion  came  to  grief  through  the  arrival  of  Admiral  Porter 
with  his  fleet  within  the  waters  of  the  river,  and  his  seiz 
ure  as  prizes  of  war  of  all  the  cotton  that  the  Eebels  had 
transported  to  the  banks.  The  bluff  old  Admiral  was  not 
informed  of  the  uses  to  which  he  was  to  be  put,  and  went 
about  this  business  in  a  sailor-like  way  which  seemed  to 
Eebel  traders  to  savor  strongly  of  treachery.  Kirby  Smith 
was  so  enraged  at  what  he  called  a  violation  of  the  contract 
that  he  burned  thousands  of  bales,  and  drove  Banks  and  his 
wagons  in  confusion  from  the  region.  Banks's  expedition  in 
the  Teche  country,  General  Washburn  says,  was  organized 
for  a  similar  purpose ;  but  there,  rumor  had  it,  the  specula 
tors  were  more  fortunate.  LTnder  threats  of  destruction  of 
cotton  and  sugar,  these  products  were  transported  in  im 
mense  quantities  to  New  Orleans,  where  a  low  price  was 
offered  the  unfortunate  owner,  with  the  choice  of  accept- 


326  A  WAR  DIARY. 

ance  or  confiscation  for  disloyalty.  I  withhold  the  names 
of  prominent  officers  whose  fortunes  were  made  while  the 
soldiers  were  gulled,  the  owners  defrauded,  and  the  country's 
fame  besmirched.  Washburn  could  make  any  day,  he 
said,  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  by  closing  his  eyes  to 
the  true  inwardness  of  this  vile  cotton  traffic.  "  Have  you 
ever  thought,"  he  asked,  "  that  the  cotton  crop  within  the 
Eebel  country  would  in  a  single  year,  at  present  prices, 
pay  the  whole  debt  thus  far  incurred  by  the  Eebels  in 
carrying  on  the  war  ? " 

The  further  discussion  of  this  interesting  subject  was 
interrupted  by  the  necessity  of  giving  my  personal  atten 
tion  to  the  embarkation  of  troops ;  and  even  then  there 
were  irritating  delays,  so  that  it  was  half-past  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  August  before  we  were  off. 
On  the  way  down  I  stopped  for  half  an  hour  at  Helena. 
General  Buford  was  in  command,  and  occupied,  with  his 
wife  and  a  pleasant  young  lady  from  Boston,  the  only 
decent  house  in  tumble-down,  shaken-down,  seedy,  frowzy, 
ragged  Helena,  —  a  place  which  rum,  negroes,  and  predes 
tination  had  made  a  by-word  and  a  reproach  among  habi 
tations.  Buford  deemed  himself  insulted  by  a  body  of 
Eebel  troops  reported  to  be  within  nine  miles  of  Helena, 
and  determined  to  remain.  "Why  can't  you,"  said  Mrs. 
Buford,  "  disembark  your  troops  and  help  my  husband 
drive  this  Eebel  force  away  ?  We  have  a  leave  of  absence, 
and  can't  take  it,  General  Buford  says,  until  the  Eebels 
move.  And  then,  too,"  she  added,  "  there  is  such  a  chance 
for  glory!"  This  was  ingenuous  and  pertinent.  It  re 
minded  me  of  a  late  newspaper  paragraph  mourning  the 
death  of  General  McPherson  at  Atlanta;  it  closed  with 
the  announcement  that  his  grandmother  attended  the 
funeral.  I  was  obliged  to  excuse  myself  with  a  plea  of 
more  important  duties,  and  bade  good-by  to  those  who 


MISSISSIPPI  RIVER.  327 

in  half  an  hour  had  filled  my  whole  future  with  pleasing 
remembrances. 

At  eight  in  the  evening  we  had  made  the  mouth  of  the 
White  River.  Everything  was  in  statu  quo.  The  quarter 
master,  running  over  with  an  unusual  abundance  of  rumors, 
chewed  his  usual  amount  of  tobacco,  and  was  more  than 
usually  addle-headed.  General  Bailey  was  not  ready  to  go 
down  the  river.  In  the  mean  time  my  new  troops  were 
to  leave  under  convoy,  August  the  5th,  to  relieve  General 
Lee  and  his  command ;  and  General  Bailey  with  three  boats 
was  to  take  the  "  Polar  Star,"  "  Kenton,"  and  "  St.  Cloud," 
at  a  quarter  before  five  in  the  afternoon,  for  Morganzia, 
running  as  much  as  possible  at  night. 

On  the  sixth,  at  noon,  the  steamer  "  Gladiator  "  arrived, 
bringing  an  aid  from  General  Canby  with  despatches  to  the 
effect,  that,  the  enemy  having  left  the  neighborhood  of  Mor 
ganzia,  I  should  remain  where  I  was  if  Steele's  commu 
nications  were  threatened,  unless  Washburn's  troops  had 
arrived  to  relieve  me,  —  in  which  event  I  should  proceed 
down  the  river,  and  if  I  found  the  enemy  attempting  to 
cross  the  Mississippi,  use  "  to  the  best  advantage  the  force 
at  my  disposal ; "  and  suggesting  that  perhaps  I  might  stop 
at  Vicksburg  and  act  with  or  aid  General  Slocum.  When 
I  received  this  order  Bailey's  command  was  below  Vicks 
burg,  and  Washburn's  force,  or  rather  Colonel  Moore's  di 
vision,  was  steaming  up  White  River.  My  plans,  therefore, 
were  not  changed,  and  I  only  awaited  the  arrival  of  Gen 
eral  Lee's  brigade  to  follow  General  Bailey.  By  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  eighth  the  whole  brigade 
had  arrived,  but  could  not  get  off  in  time  to  run  by  night 
past  certain  Rebel  batteries  which  were  said  to  be  await 
ing  us.  Our  start  was  therefore  deferred  unfil  the  next 
day.  and  hence  two  more  events  of  minor  importance 
remain  to  be  chronicled. 


328  A  WAR   DIARY. 

We  had  overhauled  a  dug-out  floating  "  way  down  the 
river,"  laden  with  its  proprietor,  one  passenger,  several 
watermelons  at  seventy-five  cents  each,  and  chickens  at 
fifty  cents,  —  those  that  had  not  died  from  the  heat, — 
when  a  man  was  captured  as  he  was  dashing  into  the  for 
est.  A  search  revealed  a  half-bushel  of  quinine  upon  his 
person.  The  man  had  come  from  Memphis,  was  suspected 
and  followed  by  one  of  General  Washburn's  aids,  through 
whom  the  capture  was  made,  and  by  whom  the  penalty  of 
confiscation  was  imposed.  The  second  incident  furnished 
an  illustration  of  the  prevailing  demoralization  which  on 
this  river  offers  its  seductions  to  all  grades  and  manners 
of  persons  alike.  Through  my  staff  I  had  been  approached 
by  the  owner  of  five  hundred  bales  of  cotton,  which  he 
wished  to  sell  me  at  fifty  cents  a  pound.  The  cotton  was 
deposited  not  far  from  where  we  were,  in  a  safe  place, 
whence  it  could  be  easily  brought.  No  commander  could 
have  availed  himself  of  this  opportunity  without  doing  so 
at  the  expense  of  impairing  his  own  usefulness  in  his  coun 
try's  service.  It  was  a  palpable  case  of  "  Choose  ye  this  day 
whom  ye  will  serve  ; "  and  I  made  it  by  bidding  an  eternal 
farewell,  at  three  o'clock  in  the. afternoon  of  the  ninth,  to 
the  mouth  of  the  White  River  and  its  speculators. 

In  the  early  night  the  moon  sank  below  the  horizon,  and 
the  darkness  covered  us,  as,  with  our  six  boats  trimmed  to 
resemble  gunboats,  we  approached  the  dangerous  point. 
That  a  Rebel  battery  was  in  position  on  the  Arkansas 
shore,  where  a  bend  offered  a  most  favorable  site,  I  had 
been  informed  and  believed.  Crammed  with  troops,  we 
turned  into  the  exposed  channel.  Everything  was  still, 
save  the  plashing  of  the  wheels  and  the  sullen  roar  of 
escaping  steam.  Anxiously  I  watched  the  dark  shore-line, 
nervously  I  awaited  the  first  gleam  of  light  and  roar  of  ar 
tillery.  A  faint  breeze  swept  our  decks ;  the  single  lamp 


MISSISSIPPI  RIVER.  329 

at  our  bows  shone  out  a  single  speck  on  the  muddy  face  of 
the  Father  of  Waters,  and  on  we  went,  unmolested  by  those 
sleeping  gunners,  who  on  the  morrow  glutted  their  ven 
geance  for  our  escape  by  attacking  the  mail  steamer  on 
her  way  north  from  New  Orleans  (laden  with  sick  soldiers, 
women,  and  old  men),  with  such  venom  that  nothing  saved 
her  but  being  towed  out  of  range  by  the  timely  arrival  of 
a  gunboat.  The  mail-boat  was  severely  crippled,  and  some 
of  her  passengers  were  killed.  Among  them  was  the  cap 
tain,  poor  fellow,  who  lost  his  head  by  a  cannon-ball  as  he 
thrust  it  from  the  pilot's  window  at  the  first  report  of  a 
gun.  Had  our  advice  been  followed,  this  boat  would  have 
escaped.  We  had  met  her  coming  up  swiftly  in  the 
morning  with  a  superb  sweep,  had  replied  to  her  cap 
tain's  hail,  and  given  our  advice  that  he  should  run  the 
Rebel  batteries  by  night.  But  he  scorned  the  caution,  and 
paid  the  penalty. 

At  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  tenth  we  were  off 
Skipworth's  Landing  and  making  good  headway  towards 
Vicksburg,  where  we  arrived  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  to 
find  that  General  Slocum  did  not  require  assistance,  and 
knew  nothing  of  any  probable  attempt  of  the  enemy 
to  cross  the  river.  At  a  wooded  reach  in  our  course  a 
man  from  the  bluff  made  frantic  signals,  waving  a  white 
rag  furiously,  and  slapping  his  pockets  to  intimate  that  he 
had  money  to  pay  his  passage  if  we  would  only  take  him 
on  board.  I  think  I  should  have  halted ;  but  the  captain 
of  my  boat  declared  that  this  display  was  only  to  lure  us 
to  the  shore,  where  there  were  probably  concealed  a  party 
of  guerillas  awaiting  a  good  opportunity  to  fire  and  run 
before  we  could  get  under  arms.  It  was  a  wild-looking 
place  in  which  to  play  this  trick,  —  an  old  one,  the  captain 
said,  and  often  successful. 

Leaving  Vicksburg  at  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we 


330  A  WAR  DIARY. 

were  ten  miles  below  Natchez  at  seven  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  eleventh.  Here  we  were  hailed  by  a  gun 
boat,  and  with  great  respect  for  its  guns  we  obeyed.  A 
boat  in  charge  of  a  subaltern  came  alongside.  "  What  do 
you  want  ?  "  from  our  captain. 

"  Say  !  a  God  damned  fool  in  that  boat  wants  a  paper ! " 
was  the  reply. 

"  Have  n't  got  any,"  says  our  captain. 

"  Well,  go  ahead ;  sorry  to  detain  you ; "  and  we  went 
ahead,  our  men  chuckling,  and  I  reflecting  upon  the  char 
acter  and  degree  of  that  discipline  which  would  allow  a 
subaltern  in  the  United  States  Volunteer  Navy  so  to 
characterize  the  respectable  commander  of  a  gunboat. 
At  half-past  two  we  were  at  Morganzia,  where  there 
were  fifteen  thousand  troops,  a  well-constructed  redoubt, 
and  plenty  of  artillery. 

On  the  twelfth,  at  eleven  at  night,  I  was  summoned  by 
a  despatch  to  report  to  General  Canby  at  New  Orleans. 
Near  Baton  Rouge  and  Port  Hudson  we  were  brought  up 
by  an  unshotted  gun,  but  went  on  after  a  regulation  amount 
of  whistles  and  jarring  and  see-sawing,  to  pass  at  daylight 
one  hundred  miles  of  abandoned  mansions,  sugar-mills, 
negro  quarters,  churches,  asylums,  colleges,  and  thrifty 
plantations,  whence  the  owners  had  fled,  and  on  which 
Government  contractors  had  entered  and  begun  to  cul 
tivate,  when  assured  of  protection,  —  and  protection  by 
certain  military  commanders  could  generally  be  assured 
under  certain  conditions.  At  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  thirteenth  we  were  at  the  city.  It  was  the  General's 
desire  that  I  should  command  the  troops  at  Morganzia, 
but  just  then  the  need  of  commanders  seemed  greater  at 
Mobile  Bay,  where  a  combined  army  and  naval  movement 
was  in  progress. 

On  the  fourteenth,  the  order  to  repair  to  Mobile  Bay 


MISSISSIPPI  RIVER.  331 

was  issued.  Major-General  Gordon  Granger  was  the  com 
mander  of  the  land  forces  there  engaged,  and  to  him  I  was 
to  report  for  assignment  to  duty.  Owing  to  a  delay  with 
which  I  had  nothing  to  do,  I  was  not  apprised  of  my  des 
tination  until  the  evening  of  the  sixteenth.  At  this  time 
I  fell  in  with  a  political  supporter  of  Banks,  a  man  whose 
peculiar  eloquence  had  often  resounded  at  the  North.  I 
met  him  at  the  St.  Charles  Hotel.  He  had  made  a  show 
of  serving  his  country  by  skipping  out  of  the  line  into  an 
office  in  the  State  of  Louisiana  at  a  salary  of  five  thousand 
dollars  per  annum  and  a  brigadier-general's  uniform.  For 
a  man  whose  safety  was  secured  he  was  wonderfully  pat 
riotic,  thinking  this  whole  generation  should  die  (and  no 
matter)  rather  than  not  press  forward  to  the  end.  "  If  we 
fail,"  he  continued,  "  let  me  flee  from  the  name  of  America, 
—  from  every  line  of  American  literature,  from  every  breath 
of  American  poetry ;  let  me  hide  away  from  this  shame, 
and  be  hereafter  unknown."  These  fragments  of  stump 
oratory  from  a  hale  and  hearty  man  who  howled  for  the 
advance  while  he  consented  to  remain  ignobly  in  the  rear 
at  a  salary  of  five  thousand  a  year,  moved  a  few  strag 
gling  hearers  to  sneers. 


332  A  WAR   DIARY. 


CHAPTEE  X. 

MOBILE  BAY.  —  ARMY   OF  THE   POTOMAC. — NEW  YORK   CITY. 

AT  five  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  seventeenth  I 
left  New  Orleans  for  Lakeport ;  arrived  there  at 
eight  after  many  obstructions,  and  took  passage  for  Fort 
Gaines,  Mobile  Bay.  We  had  made  but  five  miles  when 
the  engineer  told  us  that  it  would  be  unsafe  to  proceed,  the 
steam  having  blown  a  hole  in  the  boiler.  At  half-past  ten 
at  night  we  were  back  again  at  Lakeport.  A  telegram  to 
the  quartermaster,  "  The  '  Dale '  cannot  be  repaired  until 
twelve  to-morrow:  shall  I  take  the  'Clyde'?"  (a  fine-look 
ing  little  steamer  which  seemed  to  be  in  order)  brought  a 
reply :  "  Take  the  '  J.  M.  Brown.'  "  But  the  "  Brown  "  was 
out  of  repair,  and  the  engineer  and  pilot  were  in  New 
Orleans.  The  "  Clyde  "  also  was  found  to  be  out  of  sorts, 
and  could  not  be  got  into  condition  until  the  next  day  at 
noon.  So  I  pushed  forward  repairs  on  the  "Dale."  It 
was  eleven  at  night  before  steam  was  up,  and  then  the 
boiler  burst  in  a  new  place.  The  "  Dale  "  was  hopeless. 
There  was  nothing  for  it-  but  the  "  Brown,"  and  she  was 
most  unfit  to  traverse  the  lake ;  her  hull  rotten,  her  boilers 
and  machinery  out  of  order,  she  was  a  most  unpromising 
craft  for  rough  weather.  But  there  was  no  alternative ; 
so  despite  the  captain's  assertion  that  he  could  not  tell 
when  she  would  break  down,  I  went  on  board  with  staff, 
luggage,  and  horses,  and  started  at  noon. 

On  the  nineteenth,  at  nine  in  the  morning,  our  rickety 


MOBILE   BAY.  333 

and  weather-beaten  old  steamer  passed  out  of  Lake  Pont- 
chartrain  into  Mobile  Bay.  There  a  most  impressive 
scene  was  presented.  On  our  right  was  Fort  Gaines,  fly 
ing  the  Stars  and  Stripes  from  a  Eebel  staff.  In  the  bay 
we  saw  our  gallant  ships  at  rest,  among  them  the  "  Hart 
ford,"  with  the  brave  Admiral  Farragut  on  board.  The 
Eebel  ram  "  Tennessee  "  lay  quietly  alongside  our  vessels, 
looking  like  a  square  box  on  a  raft.  From  Fort  Morgan 
the  Rebel  flag  was  flying  in  defiance.  With  the  old 
"  Brown  "  I  steamed  around  the  bay,  stopping  a  moment 
at  Fort  Gaines  to  find  that  General  Granger  was  in  the  rear 
of  Fort  Morgan,  conducting  movements  to  compel  its  sur 
render.  There  I  found  him  with  but  few  troops  for  siege 
operations,  though  enough,  for  he  had  but  few  troops  to 
besiege.  In  anticipation  of  movements  on  Mobile  I  was 
assigned  to  the  command  of  all  the  forces  operating  on  the 
western  shore  of  Mobile  Bay. 

On  my  way  from  Fort  Morgan  I  took  on  board  Cap 
tain  Stephens,  of  the  navy,  who  had  fought  a  double-tur- 
reted  iron-clad  in  making  the  passage  of  the  forts,  and 
with  him  visited  the  principal  ships,  wooden  and  iron,  of 
as  gallant  a  fleet  as  had  ever  immortalized  itself  in  a  gal 
lant  action.  I  saw  the  ram  "  Ossipee,"  once  our  formid 
able  enemy,  but  then  —  docile  and  obedient  —  flying  the 
Stars  and  Stripes.  In  the  "  Oneida,"  Rebel  shells  burst 
in  the  cabin  and  killed  a  luckless  steward  there,  while 
from  stem  to  stern  she  was  perforated  with  round  shot. 
On  the  "  Brooklyn "  more  than  a  ton's  weight  of  shells, 
bolts,  and  round  shot  had  been  gathered  from  those  that 
had  penetrated  her  sides  or  remained  on  board.  On  the 
"  Monongahela  "  I  saw  fearful  signs  of  the  ordeal  through 
which  our  vessels  had  passed.  This  ship  had  butted  the 
Rebel  ram  "  Tennessee "  with  such  force  that  her  bow 
showed  crushed  ends  of  timbers,  and  such  deep  inden- 


334  A  WAR  DIARY. 

tations  that  for  more  than  a  mile  I  saw  them  as  I  ap 
proached.  The  commander  of  this  vessel  described  and 
pointed  out  to  me  the  course  he  took  in  making  for  the 
ram,  the  effect  of  his  blow,  and  how,  as  he  sheered  off  for 
another,  the  Rebel  commander  of  the  "  Tennessee  "  waved 
a  white  flag. 

Of  all  those  naval  officers  who  deserted  our  colors  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  Rebellion,  none  was  braver  or  more  daring 
than  he  who  had  been  removed  from  his  captured  ram 
and  sent,  grievously  wounded,  to  our  naval  hospital  at 
Pensacola.  Captain  Buchanan  had  shared  with  Dupont 
an  enviable  reputation  in  the  navy.  In  the  Rebel  service 
he  had  been  intrusted  with  great  responsibilities.  He  had 
fought  on  the  "  Merrimac  "  until  that  armored  monster  was 
whipped  by  an  insignificant  monitor  under  Worden.  Then 
he  had  turned  boldly  from  the  protection  of  the  guns  of 
Fort  Morgan  to  plunge  unattended  into  the  fight  with  our 
fleet  under  Farragut.  Relying  upon  the  invincibility  of  the 
"  Tennessee,"  he  exhibited  a  hardihood  which  came  near 
ending  in  his  destruction.  Had  he  not  surrendered  when 
he  did,  he  would  have  been  sunk.  It  was  no  slight  praise 
that  was  accorded  to  Captain  Strong  of  the  "  Mononga- 
hela,"  when  Captain  Buchanan  sent  with  his  surrender  his 
compliments  for  Strong's  bravery.  Had  the  other  vessels 
of  the  Rebel  navy  behaved  with  as  much  valor  as  was  shown 
by  the  "  Tennessee,"  the  naval  conflict  in  the  Bay  of  Mobile 
would  have  been,  to  say  the  least,  more  desperate. 

Resuming  my  visits  to  the  ships,  I  saw  where  two 
marines  had  been  killed  on  the  "  Brooklyn "  by  the  same 
solid  shot  as  it  glanced  from  the  water.  The  commander 
of  this  vessel  showed  me  the  blood  stains  on  the  deck, 
still  plainly  visible,  though  the  men  had  holy-stoned  and 
scrubbed  to  remove  them.  On  the  "  Oneida  "  a  solid  shot 
struck  the  heavy  gun-carriage  of  an  eleven-inch  gun,  shiver- 


MOBILE  BAY.  335 

ing  the  solid  oak  as  if  it  had  been  of  the  softest  pine,  and 
decapitating  a  marine  with  such  force  that  a  piece  of  the 
skull  was  driven  a  quarter  of  an  inch  into  the  oaken  carriage. 
By  other  fragments  of  the  skull,  which  flew  around  like 
bits  of  shell,  several  men  were  wounded.  But  why  enlarge 
on  these  horrors  ?  Wherever  I  went,  from  ship  to  ship, 
I  gazed  on  battered  timbers,  yawning  shot-holes,  crushed 
oaken  knees,  torn  bulwarks,  gouged  sides,  and  deep  indenta 
tions,  —  speaking  witnesses  of  the  serious  conflict  in  which 
these  vessels  had  been  engaged.  But  what  shall  I  say  of 
the  noble  officers  and  seamen  into  whose  faces  I  looked 
as  they  told  me  how  they  had  fought  their  ships,  how  each 
had  outrun  the  other  to  reach  first  the  point  of  danger  ;  of 
this  commander,  who  plunged  fiercely  into  the  conflict 
with  the  "  Tennessee ; "  or  of  that,  who  turned  his  vessel 
when  deadly  torpedoes  lay  in  his  path  ;  or  still  of  a  third, 
who,  unappalled  by  the  fire  of  the  hostile  fort,  escaped  un 
harmed  by  running  so  near  the  muzzles  of  the  enemy's 
guns  that  he  escaped  through  his  own  rashness.  How 
proud  these  sailors  were  of  their  achievements,  and  how 
they  rejoiced  that  they  had  borne  the  dear  old  flag  of  their 
country  to  victory  in  this  fearful  conflict !  In  those  days 
of  our  tribulation  and  trial,  —  in  the  days  when  a  world 
looked  upon  us  to  see  what  manner  of  men  we  were,  — 
we  could  rejoice  in  our  noble  navy,  and  praise  the  wis 
dom  that  sustained  and  supported  the  school  from  which 
it  sprang. 

Fort  Morgan  still  held  out,  but  could  not  be  saved. 
Our  little  army  was  strong  enough  to  shut  out  reinforce 
ments  from  the  eight  hundred  men  that  formed  its  gar 
rison  ;  while  on  the  water  front  the  navy  was  nearly  ready 
to  begin.  By  approaches  and  by  taking  advantage  of 
natural  cover,  our  sharpshooters  had  got  within  two  or 
three  hundred  yards  of  the  walls,  —  so  near  that  the  Eebel 


336  A  WAR  DIARY. 

guns  were  rendered  useless  on  that  face.  The  fort  con 
tained  six  months'  provisions ;  but  there  was  no  hope  for 
the  imprisoned  garrison. 

The  scene  of  my  future  operations  was  in  plain  view  of 
the  fort,  the  ships,  and  the  beleaguering  army.  At  sunrise 
on  the  twentieth  my  duties  began.  The  occupation  of 
Fort  Gaines,  on  the  western  entrance  to  the  bay,  de 
manded  my  attention.  This  stronghold  was  abandoned 
early  in  the  fight.  The  action  of  its  commander  was  very 
unfavorably  criticised  by  his  superior,  as  will  appear.  The 
fort,  though  covering  a  small  area,  was  strongly  built,  well 
supplied  with  artillery,  and  sheltered  with  bomb-proofs. 
There  was  an  inner  parapet  of  earth  for  artillery,  and  be 
yond  it,  at  the  foot  of  the  exterior  slope,  a  wall  of  brick 
loopholed  for  musketry,  uniting  at  the  angles  with  a  bas 
tion  for  one  heavy  gun.  Beyond  the  wall  came  the  ditch, 
with  a  trend  and  parapet  for  infantry  on  the  counterscarp. 
In  the  lower  part  of  the  bastioned  wall  there  were  embra 
sures  for  light  pieces  to  defend  the  ditch.  This  system  of 
fortifying  was  new,  and  had  grown  out  of  the  necessity 
for  applying  new  defences  to  attacks  by  improved  artillery. 
The  crest  of  the  glacis  protected  the  wall  and  the  earth 
work  behind  it,  leaving  nothing  to  be  battered  down.  I 
found  everything  within  the  fort  in  a  dirty  and  disorderly 
condition,  comparing  favorably,  however,  with  its  custo 
dians,  —  a  detail  from  a  colored  regiment,  one  of  whose 
members,  a  watchful  sentinel,  guarded  the  entrance  by  sit 
ting  at  the  sally-port  in  a  rocking-chair.  The  distance  to 
Fort  Morgan  across  the  bay  is  three  miles,  so  that  we  were 
within  range  of  its  heavy  guns,  had  there  not  been  more 
important  matters  to  claim  the  attention  of  its  garrison. 
With  my  glass  I  could  count  three  tiers  of  guns  in  that  still 
defiant  fort,  with  seven  guns  in  each  tier,  —  one  set  in  the 
low  sand-battery,  one  above  in  casemates,  and  one  on  the 


MOBILE   BAY.  337 

parapet  of  the  enceinte.  The  Eebel  flag  was  flying,  but  it 
flapped  mildly,  as  if  without  confidence  in  its  length  of 
days. 

The  bay  is  singularly  beautiful,  and  abounds  in  fish,  oys 
ters,  and  fresh  air, — though  the  air  was  the  only  delicacy 
which  we  were  able  to  enjoy.  For  food  we  had'  ham  and 
hard-bread  for  breakfast,  varying  it  with  bread  and  ham 
for  the  rest  of  the  day.  At  daylight,  on  the  morning  of 
the  twenty-second,  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Morgan  began. 
From  shore  and  sea  our  guns  sent  their  missiles  over,  into, 
and  around  the  doomed  fort.  For  a  time  the  firing  was 
wild  ;  but  soon  the  range  was  more  accurate,  and  our  shells 
plunged  squarely  into  the  inclosure.  The  firing  was  con 
tinued  through  the  day,  and  prolonged  into  the  night.  The 
concussion  shook  the  room  in  which  I  slept,  and  filled 
the  air  with  its  reverberations.  During  the  night  a  bright 
flame  shot  up  from  within  the  fort,  and  on  the  morning  of 
the  23d  of  August,  the  day  of  the  surrender,  a  dense  black 
smoke  arose  from  it.  The  day  before,  I  had  been  ill,  and 
unable  to  leave  my  bed,  being  threatened  with  congestive 
chills.  At  length  I  slept,  and  rose  refreshed  at  half-past 
six  on  the  morning  of  the  second  day  of  the  bombardment, 
to  see  the  Rebel  commander  of  Fort  Morgan  run  up  a  white 
flag.  Hardly  had  our  fire  ceased,  when  the  enemy  showed 
himself  on  the  glacis.  Negotiations  for  surrender  were 
begun.  Unconditional  and  immediate  surrender  was  the 
demand,  with  the  single  condition,  which  was  allowed, 
of  remaining  within  the  fort  until  two  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  to  enable  the  officers  and  men  to  pack  up  their  lug 
gage, —  for  they  had  made  no  preparation  to  leave.  The 
Rebel  commander  —  one  Page,  a  former  officer  of  the 
United  States  Navy  —  signified  his  ready  compliance  with 
the  terms.  Captain  Arnold,  in  behalf  of  the  army,  and 
Captain  Drayton,  flag-captain,  for  the  navy,  were  ordered 

22 


338  A  WAR  DIARY. 

by  Admiral  Farragut  and  General  Granger  to  receive  the 
surrender. 

When  the  white  flag  was  run  up,  I  pushed  off  in  a  small 
boat  for  the  fort,  where  Drayton  and  Arnold  soon  appeared, 
walking  on  the  glacis  with  the  Eebel  commander.  Page, 
in  a  plain  suit  of  citizen's  clothing,  looked  very  stiff  as  he 
pointed  seaward  to  what  I  afterward  learned  to  be  the  posi 
tions  of  formidable  torpedoes.  From  the  starched  manner 
in  which  this  late  lord  of  Fort  Morgan  bore  himself,  I  could 
well  understand  why  our  sailors  had  dubbed  him  "  Eamrod 
Page."  It  had  leaked  out  that  Page  was  very  indignant 
with  his  brother-in-arms,  Colonel  Anderson,  for  surrender 
ing  Fort  Gaines  when  Farragut  summoned  him.  The 
Mobile  papers  had  spoken  of  this  surrender  as  a  shameful 
and  cowardly  act,  and  had  asserted  that  Page  had  not  only 
signalled  to  Anderson,  "  Don't  give  up  your  fort,"  but  had 
rowed  there  in  the  night  in  a  small  boat,  to  find  that  An 
derson  was  with  our  fleet,  negotiating  terms  of  surrender, 
and  that  Page  then  placed  a  subordinate  officer  in  com 
mand.  Such  an  invincible  spirit,  it  may  be  thought,  would 
have  scorned  to  surrender  his  charge  until  the  heroic 
defence  of  Saragossa  had  paled  before  his  achievements. 
Indeed,  a  blush  of  such  determination  did  mantle  the  stern 
cheek  of  Sir  Eamrod ;  for  it  was  said  that  when,  before  the 
bombardment,  he  was  summoned  to  surrender,  he  replied 
that  he  would  exhaust  the  lives  and  the  means  at  his  dis 
posal  in  defending  the  fort.  Twenty-four  hours  of  bombard 
ment  so  changed  the  whole  aspect  of  things,  that  Page 
declared  his  willingness  to  surrender  to  prevent  further 
suffering  and  loss  of  life.  Though  not  a  gun  had  been  fired 
from  the  fort  in  reply  to  ours  from  land  and  sea ;  though 
not  a  soul  had  been  killed  or  wounded  by  our  fire ;  though 
our  land  batteries  had  without  serious  opposition  been 
established  within  short  range  of  his  covered  way,  and 


MOBILE  BAY.  339 

our  sharpshooters  permitted  to  take  positions  where  the 
effective  use  of  the  Rebel  guns  was  rendered  impossible, 
-  yet,  to  prevent  further  suffering  and  loss  of  life,  Page 
surrendered ! 

Who  is  entitled  to  praise  for  the  manhood  displayed  in 
the  defences  of  Mobile  Bay,  —  Page,  or  Anderson  ?  When 
the  latter  saw  that  nothing  had  availed  to  hold  back  the 
hostile  fleet ;  that  the  strongest  of  forts  manned  with  the 
most  formidable  guns,  the  channel  filled  with  torpedoes, 
the  harbor  holding  its  fleet  of  armored  ships  and  dreaded 
rams,  —  that  all  these  were  swept  away  from  the  path  of  our 
vessels  as  obstructions  of  but  little  weight,  he  knew  that 
his  position  was  hopeless.  The  great  guns  of  our  navy 
commanded  his  fort,  and  could  destroy  it ;  the  forces  of  our 
army  invested  his  position,  and  he  could  not  escape :  so, 
braving  public  obloquy,  Anderson  surrendered  Fort  Gaines, 
though  not  without  a  vigorous  fire  upon  our  ships  and  a 
considerable  loss  of  life.  It  would  seem  that  had  the 
commander  of  Fort  Morgan  exercised  as  sound  judgment 
as  did  the  commander  of  Fort  Gaines,  he  would  have 
spared  the  country  that  exhibition  of  mock  heroism  in 
which  he  played  so  conspicuous  a  part. 

At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  our  forces  took 
possession  of  Fort  Morgan,  it  was  found  that  all  the  ar 
tillery  had  been  spiked  and  the  powder  destroyed.  Upon 
being  interrogated  as  to  when  this  destruction  took  place, 
Page  replied  that  it  was  done  before  the  surrender.  But  if 
this  were  so,  the  commander  of  Fort  Morgan  was  guilty  of 
false  statements  to  Captain  Drayton  and  General  Arnold, 
for  he  told  those  officers  at  the  morning  conference  that 
there  was  no  necessity  for  his  surrender  at  all ;  that  he  had 
not  been  materially  injured  by  the  bombardment;  and  that 
he  could,  if  he  chose,  have  prolonged  the  combat.  More 
over,  he  added,  "  The  army  has  done  me  no  harm  what- 


340  A  WAR  DIARY. 

ever ; "  with  more  twaddle  of  like  nature,  all  of  which  was 
refuted  by  the  condition  of  the  fort.  Could  he  have  con 
tinued  the  fight  with  his  guns  spiked  and  his  powder 
destroyed  ?  Of  course  not.  Then  these  acts  must  have 
been  committed  before  the  conference  with  our  officers, 
before  the  white  flag,  as  large  as  a  sheet,  was  thrown  out 
in  token  of  submission;  or  the  spiking  and  destruction 
must  have  been  committed  after  the  surrender,  and  during 
the  delay  granted  to  enable  his  officers  to  pack  their  lug 
gage  and  get  ready  to  leave  the  fort.  If  before,  Page  de 
ceived  Captain  Drayton  and  General  Arnold ;  if  after,  he 
violated  all  rules  of  honor  and  abused  our  clemency,  for 
he  had  no  right  to  take  anything  away,  nor  to  injure  or  de 
stroy  anything  that  remained.  When  his  own  life  and  the 
lives  of  his  garrison  were  given  him  at  his  own  beseech 
ing,  the  public  property  became  ours ;  and  the  pitiful 
excuse  made  by  this  modern  Don  Quixote,  that  because 
General  Granger  came  in  a  small  unarmed  boat  close  to 
the  wharf  of  the  fort  when  the  white  flag  was  thrown  out, 
and  overlooked  his  works,  he  was  obliged  to  surrender,  and 
therefore  could  in  turn  justify  himself  for  violating  the 
laws  of  war,  shows  to  what  extremes  this  chivalric  Virgi 
nian  was  pushed.  Any  sea-lawyer  would  have  told  Page 
that  this  was  pettifogging. 

At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  Rebel  garrison,  six 
hundred  strong,  marched  out  of  the  fort.  Page  had  added 
a  straw  hat  to  his  citizen's  dress.  Like  his  officers,  he  was 
unarmed.  Some  of  them  said  they  never  had  had  swords, 
others  that  they  had  lost  them.  After  the  surrender  and 
departure  of  the  troops  the  fort  was  overrun  with  our  sol 
diers  and  sailors.  They  looked  into  every  box  and  trunk, 
into  every  hole  and  casemate,  dragging  into  light  odds  and 
ends  that  were  odd-  and  endless  enough.  "  I  have  got  a 
woman's  likeness,"  shouted  one  young  sailor  to  his  com- 


MOBILE  BAY.  341 

rades ;  "  and  Jack  has  got  an  ink-bottle,  and  there 's  lots 
of  plunder,"  —  all  of  which  was  exhibited  as  men  and 
officers  staggered  along  with  spoil,  which,  however,  they 
were  soon  compelled  to  disgorge  to  the  sentinels  as  they 
emerged  from  the  sally-port.  The  inside  of  the  fort 
showed  hard  usage.  The  Rebels  described  the  effect  of 
the  bursting  of  fifteen-inch  shells  as  terrific.  The  work 
was  an  old-fashioned  one,  with  a  low  sand-battery  added. 
An  immense  citadel,  occupying  the  middle  of  the  enceinte, 
took  fire  from  our  shells  and  burned  until  the  wood- work 
was  destroyed.  This  may  have  hastened  the  surrender. 
Guns  were  dismounted,  carriages  broken,  and  so  much 
debris  scattered  around  that  the  interior  presented  a  sad 
spectacle.  Although  the  casemates  were  not  properly  pro 
tected  by  blindages,  the  fact  that  six  hundred  officers  and 
men  remained  in  the  fort  during  a  twenty-four  hours' 
bombardment  without  death  or  injury,  proves  that  there 
must  have  been  ample  protection  within,  and  that  the  fort 
could  have  held  out  much  longer. 

At  four  P.M.  General  Granger  left  for  New  Orleans,  and 
the  command  of  all  the  forces  and  operations  in  Mobile 
Bay  devolved  upon  me.  On  the  twenty -fourth  I  visited 
Admiral  Farragut  on  his  ship,  the  "  Hartford,"  and  dined 
with  him.  In  preparing  for  a  movement  of  troops,  I  sought 
the  Admiral's  co-operation,  which  he  gave,  of  course,  most 
cordially.  He  was  as  brown  as  a  nut,  with  a  fresh,  manly, 
and  honest  countenance,  such  as  one  would  expect  to 
find  in  a  man  whose  achievements  had  entitled  him  to  a 
foremost,  if  not  the  first,  place  among  the  heroes  of  the 
war.  Dinner  was  announced  shortly  after  my  arrival,  to 
which  the  Admiral  insisted  I  should,  with  my  adjutant- 
general,  accompany  him.  His  invitation  was  so  cordial 
that  I  could  not  decline.  When  we  were  seated,  the  Ad 
miral  in  low  tones  asked  a  blessing  upon  our  repast.  The 


342  A  WAR   DIARY. 

dinner  passed  in  pleasant  talk  about  Mobile,  the  bay,  the 
chivalric  honor  of  Colonel  Anderson,  and  the  questionable 
conduct  of  Commander  Page,  —  all  of  which  I  will  not 
elaborate  further.  Said  the  Admiral :  "  Passing  the  forts 
was  nothing.  I  wrote  the  Department  that  I  could  pass 
the  forts  at  any  time ;  all  I  wanted  was  a  single  iron-clad. 
Well,  it  never  rains  but  it  pours.  Four  iron-clads  came 
down  to  me;  and  then  I  went  in  immediately.  But  I 
could  have  gone  in  at  any  time  within  three  months,  and 
so  I  informed  the  Department."  To  my  question,  whether 
the  fire  from  the  forts  seriously  damaged  his  ships,  he 
replied,  with  some  show  of  contempt  for  the  enemy's  fire, 
"  No ! "  then  added,  "  The  main  fight  was  with  his  iron 
clads  :  that  was  severe.  I  watched  it  very  closely.  Our 
ships  were  all  around  the  ram  '  Tennessee/  and  when  I 
saw  him  begin  to  back  one  wheel,  as  you  did  when  you 
came  up  alongside,  I  said,  '  We  've  got  him  ! ' '  I  spoke 
of  the  loss  of  the  "  Tecumseh,"  a  monitor  carrying  a  fif 
teen-inch  gun,  which  went  down  with  all  on  board  while 
our  fleet  was  entering  the  harbor.  Referring  to  her  sudden 
disappearance  (she  struck  a  torpedo),  I  asked  if  Craven, 
her  commander,  entered  the  harbor  in  the  course  pointed 
out  for  him.  The  Admiral  thought  he  might  have  departed 
a  little  from  his  orders ;  but  upon  being  set  right  by  Cap 
tain  Drayton,  added :  "  Well,  he  took  his  chances."  On 
the  matter  of  torpedoes  I  questioned  the  Admiral  eagerly, 
for  I  was  deeply  interested  in  knowing  whether  in  his 
wooden  ships  he  attempted  to  avoid  them.  He  laughed  as 
he  said :  "  No !  I  heard  torpedoes  cracking  all  around  me  ; 
I  knew  there  were  chances  of  getting  in  without  their 
exploding ;  I  knew  also  that  there  were  chances  of  their 
exploding  without  blowing  up  my  vessels,  and  I  took  these 
chances.  I  know  of  no  other  way  to  fight  an  enemy  but 
to  take  chances  and  go  ahead  ! "  The  capture  of  Vicksburg 


MOBILE  BAY.  343 

coining  up,  the  Admiral  said  that  he  first  proposed  to  Grant 
to  drop  down  below  Vicksburg,  land,  and  make  his  way 
around  by  Jackson ;  that  Grant  looked  over  the  map  which 
Farragut  had  exhibited  in  his  cabin,  and  said  :  "  It  looks 
well :  I  '11  try  it ;  and  if  I  don't  succeed,  I  will  come  back 
and  fight  it  out  in  front  of  the  city."  I  saw  where  the 
"  Hartford  "  was  struck  by  the  "  Lacka wanna  "  in  her  at 
tempt  to  run  down  the  "  Tennessee."  An  awful  hole  it 
was,  indeed,  though  at  the  time  the  "  Lackawanna  "  was 
backing ;  she  saw  how  inevitable  the  impact  must  be  in 
spite  of  her  efforts 'to  avoid  it.  The  Admiral  was  out 
spoken  in  condemnation  of  the  use  of  torpedoes  in  war 
fare  ;  he  thought  their  employment  about  on  a  par  with 
poison,  though  he  admitted  that  he  would  "  fight  fire  with 
fire."  The  Admiral  believed  in  wooden  ships.  He  had 
been  in  the  "  Hartford "  since  the  war  broke  out.  "  A 
ship  of  wood  and  a  heart  of  iron,"  he  said  to  me,  "  are  as 
good  as  an  iron-clad."  I  left  the  Admiral  with  a  con 
firmed  conviction  that  in  capacity  and  valor  he  was  one 
of  the  ablest  officers  of  the  navy. 

One  of  my  aids  brought  with  him  from  Fort  Morgan  a 
few  articles  for  our  table  use,  which  Page  had  not  carried 
away;  also  two  good  negro  servants,  both  of  whom  I  hired. 
These  men  told  me  that  Page  used  silver  forks  and  spoons, 
but  that  he  saw  them  all  packed  in  his  trunk  before  the 
hour  of  surrendering  came.  The  Rebel  sick,  surgeons,  and 
matrons  I  sent  to  New  Orleans.  A  chaplain  who  accom 
panied  them  begged  to  be  released  as  a  non-combatant; 
but  I  replied  :  "  Not  yet ;  for  you  parsons  stir  up  bad  blood 
by  your  preaching,  —  at  least  the  people  say  so  of  you." 
We  found  many  sacks  of  fine  coffee  in  the  fort,  with  other 
evidences  that  good  living  abounded.  It  was  amusing  to 
hear  from  my  new  colored  servants  a  recital  of  what  Page 
threatened  to  do  with  our  fleet.  He  had  roared  like  a  lion 


344  A  WAR  DIAKY. 

of  his  achievements;  he  had  "kept  the  whole  Yankee 
fleet  at  bay,  sir !  would  sink  them,  sir !  should  they  at 
tempt  to  enter."  Chivalry  had  listened  to,  and  ladies  had 
smiled  upon,  Sir  Eamrod.  Even  when  our  fleet  had  passed 
the  fort,  this  bragging  went  on.  He  signalled  Buchanan 
not  to  go  out  and  fight  them ;  "  For,  sir,"  said  he,  "  I  've  got 
every  one  of  them ;  they  've  got  to  run  by  my  fort  to  get 
out,  and  they  can't  get  by,  sir !  Every  one  of  those  ships 
is  mine." 

The  twenty-fifth  was  passed  in  advancing  my  lines  for 
the  occupation  of  Cedar  Point,  which  was  on  the  direct 
road  to  the  city  of  Mobile.  Four  transports,  two  tin-clads 
borrowed  from  the  navy,  and  two  army  boats  carried  the 
troops.  In  all  there  were  two  thousand  men,  two  batteries, 
and  a  large  quantity  of  engineering  tools.  We  made  the 
landing  with  difficulty,  over  a  wharf  at  least  one  third  of  a 
mile  in  length,  and  in  a  most  desperate  condition.  General 
Emery,  the  Eebel  commander  at  Mobile,  had  attempted  to 
render  this  wharf  altogether  useless ;  but  the  men  clam 
bered  over  leaning  piles,  broken  stringers,  and  crazy 
planking  to  the  shore.  The  tin-clads,  after  landing  their 
troops,  took  positions  on  each  side  of  the  narrow  penin 
sula  along  which  we-  were  to  march.  The  captured  ram 
"  Selma,"  with  her  heavy  battery  of  Brooks  guns,  towed 
launches  in  which,  if  necessary,  to  land  the  troops.  I 
went  forward  to  reconnoitre.  The  sun  was  hot,  and  the 
mosquitoes  were  frightfully  thick.  We  advanced  towards 
a  Rebel  fortification  which  was  in  fine  condition,  having 
heavy  bomb-proofs.  We  neither  saw  nor  heard  the 
enemy.  Save  on  the  shell  road,  the  country  on  either 
side  from  water  to  water  was  a  marsh.  Deciding  to  oc 
cupy  the  Rebel  fort,  I  ordered  the  engineers  to  complete 
the  lines  by  additional  works,  and  directed  the  bridge  and 
wharf  to  be*  completed  and  artillery  landed.  This  occu- 


MOBILE   BAY.  345 

pied  until  eight  P.  M.,  when  I  was  rowed  in  a  small  boat 
about  five  miles  to  Fort  Gaines,  which  I  reached  at  fifteen 
minutes  past  nine,  having  passed  the  day  without  food 
or  rest,  to  look  forward  to  a  night  in  which  heat  and 
mosquitoes  contended  for  the  mastery. 

Our  enemy  was  hard  at  work  erecting  batteries  near 
Mobile  in  every  conceivable  place  and  situation,  also  in 
laying  down  obstructions  to  our  ships,  —  some  of  these, 
however,  the  navy  had  blown  up  at  night.  My  cavalry  had 
found  the  enemy's  pickets  on  the  easterly  side  of  Mobile 
Bay.  Every  day  furnished  new  and  amusing  revelations 
of  the  hopes  and  fears  which  had  been  indulged  in  by 
those  in  Fort  Morgan  in  anticipation  of  our  attack ;  much 
was  said,  of  course,  in  the  presence  of  servants  at  the 
table,  with  that  forgetfulness  of  the  "  cheil  amang "  them 
taking  mental  notes  which  is  not  uncommon  everywhere. 
Olmstead,  Page's  colored  waiter  in  the  fort,  now  mine, 
said  that  the  Rebel  commander  could  not  conceive  how 
Farragut  got  by  his  guns.  "I  do  not  see  how  I  failed 
to  sink  the  '  Hartford.'  I  do  not  see  how  I  failed  to  sink 
her,"  he  muttered  at  his  table.  Why  should  he  not  won 
der  ?  All  his  guns  bore  upon  the  "  Hartford,"  and  all  his 
will  was  to  sink  the  brave  old  ship  which  bore  the  gallant 
Admiral.  Page  knew  that  the  loss  of  Farragut  would  be 
almost  irreparable  to  us  ;  so  he  trained  his  guns,  and  fired 
his  huge  shot,  and  looked  out  from  the  flame  and  smoke 
to  see  the  "  Hartford,"  with  our  plucky  Admiral  on  board, 
pass  on  unscathed.  So  muttering  and  musing  of  his  fail 
ure,  he  spiked  his  guns  and  surrendered  without  a  shot. 

Two  young  engineer  officers  on  my  staff  found  in  Fort 
Morgan  a  classmate  of  Southern  birth  and  proclivities, 
who,  while  condemning  the  act  of  the  Eebel  commander 
in  spiking  his  guns,  and  excusing  him  through  ignorance 
of  proper  observances  in  such  situations,  severely  criti- 


346  A  WAR   DIARY. 

cised  our  inhumanity  in  maintaining  fire  on  the  fort  after 
flames  had  burst  out  from  its  citadel.  "Why  did  you  not 
stop  it  by  raising  the  white  flag  ? "  was  asked,  and  an 
swered  with  the  statement  that  this  course  was  not 
thought  necessary.  Our  inhumanity !  Of  what  was  the 
Eebel  milk  of  human  kindness  made,  when  our  sailors, 
blown  into  the  water  by  torpedoes  and  struggling  for  life, 
were  shot  dead  by  concealed  riflemen  from  the  shore ; 
when  our  women,  children,  and  sick  soldiers,  traversing 
the  Mississippi,  were  greeted  with  batteries  of  artillery, 
amidst  cries  of  non-combatants,  bursting  boilers,  smoke 
and  flame,  and  sinking  wrecks  ?  What  shall  be  said  of 
Sumter,  where  the  Eebels  began  the  war  by  the  very  act 
which  is  now  condemned;  of  Fort  Pillow,  where  hell 
itself  was  shadowed  in  that  glare  of  Eebel  wickedness; 
of  Quantrell  and  Forrest ;  of  Libby  Prison  and  Anderson- 
ville  ?  One  could  hardly  believe  that  we  had  been  so  long 
associated  as  fellow-countrymen  with  such  cruel  monsters 
as  some  of  these  denizens  of  a  slave-holding  region  showed 
themselves  to  be. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  I  could  not  neglect  the  progress 
of  that  malarial  poison  which  had  for  several  days  op 
pressed  me.  So  utterly  wretched  with  aches  in  head,  eyes, 
and  limbs  I  had  never  felt.  And  yet  the  duties  devolving 
upon  me  had  to  be  performed  as  long  as  soul  and  body 
could  hold  together.  A  movement  upon  Mobile,  it 
seemed  to  be  conceded,  was  not  to  be  made  at  that 
time, — there  were  not  troops  enough ;  and  General  Canby 
had  plans  of  action  on  the  Mississippi  at  Morganzia,  where 
troops  were  to  be  sent,  and  the  Nineteenth  Corps  re 
organized. 

On  the  thirty-first,  the  last  day  of  summer,  in  the  even 
ing,  Admiral  Farragut  came  ashore  in  his  steam  yacht  to 
call  upon  me.  I  had  been  visiting  the  eastern  side  of  the 


MOBILE  BAY.  347 

bay  in  a  miserable  old  tub  of  a  metamorphosed  canal-boat, 
too  ugly  to  make  headway,  too  perverse  to  keep  still,  and 
too  ungainly  to  tie  up,  and  had  arrived  at  my  wharf  to  find 
the  Admiral,  with  some  officers  of  his  staff,  awaiting  my 
landing.  Exchanging  salutations  at  a  distance,  I  curbed 
my  impatience  while  the  foolish  captain  of  my  pig-headed 
beast  of  a  boat  "  roped  her  in  "  near  enough  to  enable  me 
to  jump  ashore  and  accompany  the  Admiral  to  my  quar 
ters.  I  called  Olmstead  in  to  tell  about  Page's  close 
confinement  to  his  bomb-proof  during  the  day  of  the  bom 
bardment,  and  of  his  begging  for  a  cup  of  tea,  which,  not 
forthcoming  (because  Olmstead  declined  to  go  to  the 
kitchen  to  make  one),  left  him  with  nothing  but  the  shells 
which  had  been  so  liberally  supplied  by  our  navy  during 
the  day.  Speaking  of  the  political  contest  in  Virginia 
which  preceded  the  Eebellion,  the  Admiral  said  that  both  he 
and  Page,  finding  themselves  in  the  same  representative  dis 
trict,  in  or  near  Norfolk,  Virginia,  worked  together  against 
Secession  sympathies  and  tendencies.  "Together,"  con 
tinued  the  Admiral,  "  we  carried  our  district  for  the  Union ; 
and  yet  Virginia  was  dragged  out.  Page  had  no  sympathy 
with  Secession,  and  I  don't  believe  he  has  any  now.  I  have 
heard  him  say  to  men  who  argued  in  its  favor,  that  he  had 
no  patience  with  them.  '  But/  he  said  to  me,  '  if  my  State 
goes  out,  what  am  I  to  do  ?  I  can't  give  up  home  and 
friends.'  '  I  know  I  can,'  I  replied ;  '  I  know  there 's  some 
other  place  in  the  world  to  live  in  besides  Norfolk.' " 
Again  the  Admiral  repeated  that  Virginia  was  most  in 
famously  dragged  out  of  the  Union,  and  that  he  could  not 
follow  her.  Suppose  there  had  been  more  men  like  him,  — 
men  who  not  only  wished  Union,  and  talked  Union,  and 
voted  Union,  but  who  were  determined  to  fight  for  Union,— 
we  should  have  had  more  Farraguts  and  so  small  a  volume 
of  Pages,  that  Virginia,  true  to  her  best  thought,  her  best 


348  A   WAR   DIARY. 

history,  and  best  men,  would  not  have  been  dragooned  by 
political  knaves  and  mountebanks.  Such  as  these,  with  a 
few  historic  names,  it  is  painful  to  think,  were  potent  to 
drive  her  into  rebellion  against  the  Government. 

As  the  Admiral  returned  to  his  yacht,  I  fell  in  with 
Captain  Drayton  and  spoke  to  him  of  what  was  then  much 
talked  of,  —  the  Admiral's  passing  Fort  Morgan  lashed  in 
the  rigging  of  the  "  Hartford."  I  was  much  surprised  at 
the  reply  that  others  of  his  officers  were  also  equally  ex 
posed  ;  and  that  as  to  the  lashing,  it  was  a  measure  of  pru 
dence  suggested  by  the  captain  himself,  who,  perceiving 
the  Admiral  about  to  take  his  position  in  the  shrouds, 
advised  this  precaution.  Indeed  it  did  not  seem  that  this, 
which- has  so  added  to  Farragut's  reputation  for  daring,  was 
more  than  was  expected  of  him,  or  that  it  exposed  him 
to  greater  peril  than  if  he  had  remained  on  deck. 

A  spicy  letter,  reported  to  have  been  sent  by  General 
Canby  to  the  President,  in  which  he  wrote  that  if  the  cot 
ton  traffic  was  to  be  continued  within  his  division  by  per 
mits  from  Washington,  in  the  face  of  Treasury  regulations 
prohibiting  it  outside  of  our  picket  lines,  he  could  not 
control  the  military  situation  west  of  the  Mississippi, — 
called  forth  an  opinion  from  the  Admiral  that  such  permits, 
if  they  had  been  given,  were  justified  by  the  necessity  of 
relieving  our  cotton-spinners  at  the  North,  and  therefore 
that  the  proceeding  was  both  patriotic  and  justifiable.  The 
Admiral  proved  himself  daily  to  be  a  dear  old  fellow,  an 
innocent,  fighting  Admiral.  But  the  torpedoes  that  he 
had  fished  up  in  this  bay,  where  there  were  some  hun 
dreds  more  planted,  —  would  it  not  have  injured  Northern 
manufactures  and  trade  to  discourage  or  condemn  their 
use  in  Rebel  warfare  ?  Might  we  not  as  well  have  manu 
factured  war  material  for  the  enemy  as  buy  his  cotton  with 
that  which  enabled  him  to  purchase  war  material  ?  What 


MOBILE   BAY.  349 

would  Page  say,  —  Page,  who  fought  the  political  contest 
side  by  side  with  the  Admiral,  who  went  out  because  Vir 
ginia  went  out,  and  who  planted  torpedoes  for  his  friend  and 
old  comrade  to  sail  over,  because  that  friend  and  comrade 
bore  at  his  top  the  flag  of  the  Union  ?  Ask  Page  what  he 
thought  of  Lincoln's  permits  for  traffic  in  cotton  on  the 
Eed  Eiver,  and  whether  our  nation  was  benefited  thereby. 
Any  officer  of  our  army  would  agree  with  General  Wash- 
burn,  that  our  Government  was  entitled  to  all  it  could 
make  out  of  all  the  cotton  it  could  seize  in  the  South,  to 
pay  for  food  supplied  to  Southern  paupers,  if  for  no  other 
purpose.  In  June  of  that  year,  Banks  at  New  Orleans,  as 
was  shown  by  figures  taken  from  the  provost-marshal's 
books,  issued  seven  thousand  nine  hundred  rations  daily  to 
those  negroes  who  were  not  employed  by  the  Government ; 
at  Vicksburg,  in  the  same  month,  the  rations  issued  to  the 
same  class  of  persons  amounted  to  forty-eight  thousand 
four  hundred.  What  were  the  net  receipts  from  a  region 
which  drew  so  largely  upon  the  Treasury  ?  Was  there  not 
a  better  use  for  cotton  than  granting  permits  to  private 
favorites  to  exchange  for  it  contraband  of  war  ?  How 
many  more  Southern  cities  ought  we  to  have  taken  if  the 
capture  required  a  daily  gift  of  seventy-nine  thousand 
rations  to  contrabands  ? 

By  the  2d  of  September  it  became  apparent,  through 
orders,  for  the  transfer  of  two  of  my  regiments  at  Cedar 
Point  to  Morganzia  on  the  Mississippi,  that  no  immediate 
movement  would  be  made  on  Mobile.  Sickness  was  on 
the  increase ;  malarial  fever  patients  filled  our  temporary 
hospitals.  Strange  pains  and  aches  and  debility  were  with 
me  a  daily  experience,  which  baffled  the  doctor's  drugs  and 
the  doctor's  care.  Northern  air  was  recommended  and 
ordered ;  but  I  was  averse  to  giving  up,  though  I  was 
stricken  with  a  violent  chill  while  in  a  boat  transferring 


350  A  WAR  DIARY. 

troops  on  the  bay.  Absolute  prostration  and  utter  help 
lessness  oppressed  me  for  the  first  time  in  my  life.  The 
heat  in  the  bay  was  not  relieved  by  the  wind  which  our 
boat  had  stirred.  A  sudden  chill  in  all  this  heat,  an  un 
bearable  suffocation  followed  by  a  burning  fever,  sent  me 
to  the  shore,  whence  I  was  carried  to  my  camp-bed,  and 
there  restored  to  life  from  the  beginning  of  death.  The 
next  day  found  me  weak,  unable  to  rise,  and  in  receipt  of 
orders  from  General  Canby  to  report  for  duty  to  Major- 
General  Eeynolds,  commanding  the  Nineteenth  Army 
Corps.  Through  the  aid  of  quinine,  I  was  able  to  take  an 
outside  passage  for  New  Orleans  on  the  4th  of  September, 
stopping  a  moment  at  the  "  Hartford  "  to  say  farewell  to 
Farragut  and  to  give  him  a  rocking-chair  which  came  out 
of  Fort  Morgan,  for  which  he  had  expressed  a  wish.  By 
night  we  were  off  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  on  the 
fifth  at  New  Orleans,  with  Page's  servants  exulting  in 
their  freedom.  On  the  seventh,  with  a  leave  of  absence 
for  twenty  days  on  account  of  sickness,  I  was  on  board 
the  steamship  "  Empire  City,"  bound  for  Fortress  Monroe, 
with  permission  to  make  application  for  duty  at  the 
North. 

On  the  twenty-seventh,  after  a  few  days  at  home,  I 
touched  again  at  the  Fortress  on  my  way  to  City  Point, 
where  I  arrived  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  General 
Grant  was  near  the  landing,  within  the  square  which  held 
his  own  tent  and  the  tents  of  his  staff.  As  I  approached, 
a  mutual  recognition  followed,  though  we  had  not  met 
since  we  were  in  the  city  of  Mexico  under  Scott.  Grant 
was  talking  with  his  staff  in  an  easy  and  familiar  way, 
when  General  Hunter,  who  had  come  up  on  the  steamer, 
introduced  me.  "  Why,"  said  the  General,  "  I  knew  you, 
Gordon,  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago."  We  were  together 
two  years  at  West  Point.  Cadet  Grant  graduated  in  1844. 


ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC.  351 

It  was  twenty  years  since  I  had  first  met  him.  "  Come  to 
my  tent/'  he  added,  in  an  easy  and  cordial  way ;  and  we 
directed  our  steps  towards  a  good-sized  wall-tent,  with  a 
carpeted  floor  and  but  little  camp  furniture,  pitched  on 
the  greensward  of  a  rich  estate  on  the  bank  of  the  James. 
The  scene,  with  the  flag  flying  in  front  near  the  cottage 
of  the  owner  of  this  domain,  which  was  surrounded  with 
hedges,  shrubbery,  and  roses,  was  both  beautiful  and  pictur 
esque.  Beyond,  where  soldiers  overran,  batteries  defaced, 
and  hungry  mules  destroyed,  the  usual  desolation  and  de 
struction  were  exhibited.  Grant  offered  cigars.  Of  course 
he  was  smoking;  indeed  he  was  rarely  without  a  cigar. 
He  made  the  frank  admission,  however,  that  he  "  smoked 
too  much,"  and  thought  he  "  felt  better  when  he  hankered 
after  a  cigar"  than  when  he  "smoked  one."  The  Gen 
eral's  mail  was  handed  him.  Some  letters  he  read  with 
great  interest ;  one  from  a  mutual  friend  (an  old  flame  of 
his,  he  said,  the  wife  of  an  officer  in  his  army)  could  not 
have  been  addressed  to  one  more  potent.  Another  was  from 
the  President,  —  Uncle  Abe,  as  Grant  called  him.  After 
reading  it  he  said,  "  That 's  kind  of  Uncle  Abe ;  he  says  he 
won't  do  so  any  more ;  good  boy  ! "  Still  another,  with  an 
envelope  enclosed,  was  torn  up  and  thrown  on  the  floor. 
"  An  application  for  an  autograph  ? "  asked  General  Hun 
ter.  "  Yes,"  replied  the  General ;  then  added,  "  I  don't  get 
as  many  as  I  did  when  I  answered  them."  But  he  con 
tinued,  "  I  do  get  a  great  many  letters  telling  me  how  to 
take  Kichmond.  One  writer  thinks  if  I  and  all  my  soldiers 
would  pray  at  one  and  the  same  moment  for  the  fall  of 
Kichmond,  we  might  fetch  it.  Another  thinks  I  ought  to 
surround  Richmond  with  a  water-tight  dam,  and  pump  the 
James  into  it."  The  conversation  lasted  for  two  or  three 
hours,  and  was  shared  with  large  numbers  of  civilians  of 
note  and  general  officers  who  had  dropped  in,  all  of  whom 


352  A  WAR  DIARY. 

however  could  do  little  more  than  listen,  for  the  General 
steadily  held  the  floor  and  did  most  of  the  talking.  Grant 
is  a  much  better  looking  man  than  his  photographs  repre 
sent  him  to  be.  I  could  easily  discover  the  old  resolute 
look  which  I  had  often  noted  when  he  was  a  gray-coated 
cadet  at  West  Point;  and  it  gave  me  every  encourage 
ment  to  believe  that  at  last  the  right  man  was  in  the  right 
place.  In  that  face  of  courage,  capacity,  watchfulness, 
hopefulness,  and  reticence,  I  saw  self-confidence,  without 
which  all  other  soldierly  qualities  are  as  nothing. 

In  the  morning  I  saw  Butler  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Appomattox,  ready  for  his  "bottling."  He  had  pretty 
well  exploded  General  Quincy  A.  Gillmore's  military  pre 
tensions,  though  he  said  he  had  as  yet  only  begun  on  him, 
—  he  had  "  charges  to  prefer  against  him."  But  General 
(Baldy)  Smith's  case  was  a  puzzler  to  Butler,  —  one  of 
"pure  cussedness"  he  called  it.  He  could  not  under 
stand  it.  "  Smith  is  a  valuable  officer,"  he  said,  and  he 
would  have  done  him  no  injustice  any  more  than  he  would 
have  knocked  the  horse  on  the  head  that  was  safely  carry 
ing  him  on  his  journey.  "But,"  added  Butler,  "I  am 
reminded  of  the  old  couplet, — 

"  '  He  digg'd  a  pit  and  digg'd  it  deep, 
And  digg'd  it  for  his  brother, 
But  he  fell  into  that  pit  instead  of  t'other  ! " 

Butler  was,  as  usual,  a  little  mistaken,  as  was  proved  by 
after  events  then  moving  rapidly  on. 

I  left  Grant's  headquarters  with  assurances  from  the 
General  that  I  should  be  ordered  on  duty  with  his  army. 
On  the  3d  of  October  I  received  a  despatch  from  General 
Grant,  dated  at  City  Point,  October  1,  directing  me  to 
report  to  General  Butler.  This  assignment  was  not  what 
I  had  anticipated  from  the  General-in-Chief;  but  there 


ARMY  OF  THE   POTOMAC.  353 

was  no  remedy  for  it,  so  I  prepared  to  obey,  with  the 
belief  or  hope  that  it  was  only  a  stepping-stone  to  better 
things  beyond.  On  the  13th  of  October,  at  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  I  took  passage  for  Bermuda  Hundred,  on  the 
same  steamer  in  which,  but  a  few  days  before,  I  had  sailed 
for  City  Point  with  General  Burnham  of  Maine,  who  was 
returning  from  a  furlough.  The  General  had  his  little  son 
with  him,  "  taking  him  out,"  he  told  me,  "  to  see  some 
thing  of  the  army.  He  will  probably  be  a  soldier,  as  his 
father  is,"  he  added,  patting  the  boy's  head  in  a  gentle, 
loving  way.  Alas  for  human  hopes !  The  next  trip  the 
steamer  made  she  bore  the  dead  body  of  the  General,  with 
his  weeping  son,  back  to  the  old  home.  On  the  day  after 
our  landing  an  engagement  between  the  enemy  and  our 
forces,  including  General  Burnham's  command,  had  blotted 
out  the  life  of  the  fond  father  and  the  gallant  soldier. 

By  steamer,  tug,  and  ambulance,  I  reached  Butler's  tent, 
on  the  north  of  the  James,  on  the  13th  of  October,  to  find 
that  a  division  in  Birney's  corps,  then  temporarily  com 
manded  by  General  Terry,  was  to  be  assigned  to  me.  I 
studied  carefully  the  position  occupied  by  the  Tenth 
Corps,  the  scene  of  its  exploits  in  conjunction  with  the 
Eighteenth,  afterwards  designated  as  the  Twenty-fourth 
and  Twenty-fifth,  —  the  former  white,  the  latter  black, — 
the  enemy's  line  of  rifle-pits,  the  good  work  done  by  our 
colored  troops  on  the  New  Market  Heights,  and  the  loop 
(bottle)  which  Butler  made  for  his  troops  in  strengthening 
his  right  by  returning  it  to  the  James. 

An  overpowering  sense  of  debility  from  malarious  at 
tacks  in  the  Gulf  convinced  me  that  it  would  be  but  jus 
tice  to  myself  and  the  troops  I  might  command  to  ask  for 
a  few  days'  respite,  that  I  might  test  my  strength  and  tone. 
Butler,  kindly  assenting,  suggested  that  I  take  a  tent  near 
his  headquarters  and  await  movements  soon  to  be  made, 

23 


354  A  WAR   DIARY. 

in  which  I  should  participate.  I  gladly  accepted  this  con 
dition,  and  went  to  bed,  —  returning  the  next  day,  how 
ever,  to  Fortress  Monroe,  to  hurry  forward  my  horses  and 
equipage,  daily  expected  there.  Not  a  mile  to  the  front, 
strains  of  music  from  our  battle-line  came  to  my  ears. 
Behind  thirty- two  miles  of  intrench ments,  crossing  the 
James  and  the  Appomattox  from  the  New  Market  Road 
on  the  right  to  and  over  the  Weldon  Railroad  on  the  left, 
the  armies  of  the  Potomac  and  of  the  James  confronted, 
in  some  places  within  half  pistol-shot,  the  Rebel  lines. 

On  the  fifteenth  I  was  again  at  Fortress  Monroe.  My 
expectations  of  returning  on  the  next  day  were  not  to  be 
realized.  After  a  sleepless  night  I  was  prostrated  with 
fever.  Mustard  baths  and  medicines  were  prescribed  by 
two  physicians,  with  the  usual  good  effects  in  such  cases. 
The  utter  impossibility  of  returning  to  duty  at  once  was 
also  pointed  out,  and  a  stay  of  fifteen  days  in  a  more 
northerly  climate  insisted  on  as  indispensable  to  recovery. 
On  the  seventeenth,  Butler,  who  had  come  to  the  Fortress, 
approved  of  the  surgeon's  decision,  and  offered  me  the  com 
mand  of  a  colored  corps  when  I  should  return. 

On  the  nineteenth  I  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  and  gave 
myself  up  to  medical  treatment.  By  the  5th  of  Novem 
ber,  under  the  skilful  handling  of  Dr.  Neill  and  the  ten 
der  care  of  loving  friends,  I  was  able  to  go  to  New  York 
and  offer  my  services  to  Butler,  of  whose  arrival  there  on 
that  day  to  control  the  city  during  the  forthcoming  Presi 
dential  election,  I  saw  note  made  in  the  morning  papers. 
A  division  of  troops  from  the  armies  of  the  James  and  the 
Potomac  had  been  landed  at  Forts  Richmond  and  Hamil 
ton  for  use  in  the  streets  of  New  York  if  occasion  should 
require.  These  troops,  Butler  informed  me,  he  designed 
to  place  under  my  command. 

At  ten  in  the  morning  of  Sunday,  the  6th  of  November, 


NEW  YORK  CITY.  355 

I  was  driven  in  a  buggy  from  Englewood,  where  I  had 
passed  the  night,  to  the  landing  at  Hoboken  for  the  ferry 
to  New  York.  It  was  a  bright  sunny  day,  and  the  hill 
sides,  the  palisades,  the  villages,  churches,  and  taverns  by 
the  Hudson  never  before  looked  so  picturesque.  Butler 
had  made  his  headquarters  at  the  Hoffman  House,  and 
there  I  met  him  at  noon.  With  Major-General  Butterfield 
and  a  brigadier-general  then  on  duty  in  New  York  I  held 
a  long  consultation  upon  a  plan  of  operations.  We  also 
consulted  the  chief  of  police  and  others  as  to  the  proba 
bilities  of  mob  violence  on  election  day.  The  plan  decided 
on  and  approved  by  Butler  contemplated  the  disposal  of 
the  troops  in  ferry-boats  along  the  North  and  East  rivers 
in  complete  readiness  to  land  at  any  moment.  On  the 
seventh,  at  noon,  I  visited  the  troops,  and  made  final  dis 
positions  for  the  eighth,  the  day  of  election.  The  positions 
the  boats  were  to  occupy,  the  number  and  kind  of  troops 
for  each  boat,  food  and  water,  —  everything,  even  to  hitch 
ing  the  horses  to  the  gun-carriages,  was  provided  for  and 
communicated  to  General  Hawley,  commanding  the  pro 
visional  division.  It  was  dark  when  I  returned  to  the 
Hoffman  House.  At  Butler's  desire  I  had  accepted  for 
this  duty  the  position  of  chief  of  his  staff. 

Tuesday,  the  8th  of  November,  was  a  muggy  day.  Early 
in  the  morning  I  made  the  circuit  of  the  North  and  East 
rivers  in  a  tug.  The  ferry-boats  with  artillery  were  in 
the  slips,  and  those  with  infantry  off  the  piers.  Tugs  to 
carry  orders,  staff-officers  and  mounted  orderlies  were  in 
readiness.  In  my  office  at  the  hotel  telegraphic  communi 
cation  was  held  with  every  public  station  in  the  city,  and 
a  commissioned  officer  was  stationed  at  each  to  communi 
cate  instantly  with  headquarters.  The  quiet  of  New  York 
was  unparalleled,  if  not  ominous.  During  the  day  but 
two  policemen  were  at  the  Hoffman  House.  At  night  the 


356  A  WAR   DIARY. 

building  was  guarded  by  sixty  soldiers.  Save  these,  there 
was  no  display  of  force  within  the  city  itself.  When  the 
returns  came  in,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  Butler  found 
that  he  could  rejoice  over  a  Democratic  defeat. 

On  the  fourteenth  Butler  received  an  ovation  from  the 
citizens,  during  which  Henry  Ward  Beecher  nominated 
him  for  the  Presidency.  This  ended  the  military  occupa 
tion  of  New  York.  If  mobs  had  been  organized,  or  relied 
upon,  to  defeat  Lincoln's  election  to  the  Presidency,  our 
formidable  preparations  had  subdued  them.  Before  the 
eighteenth  the  troops  had  returned  to  the  armies  whence 
they  were  taken,  and  the  Hoffman  House  was  no  longer 
subject  to  siege. 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  357 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA. 

the  9th  of  December  troops  from  the  Army  of  the 
James  were  lying  in  transports  at  anchor  in  the  bay 
under  command  of  General  Weitzel,  with  Generals  Ames 
and  Paine  as  subordinates.  The  destination  of  this  expe 
dition,  unknown  to  all  but  the  parties  interested,  was  sup 
posed  to  be  Wilmington,  in  North  Carolina.  Eumors  that 
"  Butler  goes  along  "  were  current,  but  whether  he  was  to 
command  was  uncertain.  Until  some  time  during  the  night 
of  the  twelfth,  a  storm  had  detained  the  fleet ;  but  in  the 
morning  the  transports  got  under  way.  Admiral  Porter 
was  off  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  thirteenth, 
and  Butler  sailed  the  next  day  in  the  "  Ben  Deford."  Con 
templating  his  departure,  I  reflected  that  it  would  be  hard, 
indeed,  if  he  who  had  thus  far  impressed  his  admirers 
with  a  conviction  that  human  agency  could  not  avail 
against  his  imperious  will,  should  fail  in  this  his  great 
opportunity. 

Some  of  the  engineers  at  Fortress  Monroe  laughed 
heartily  at  Butler's  efforts,  when  he  first  came  to  that 
post,  to  introduce  labor-saving  methods.  He  laid  rails  to 
transport  heavy  guns  and  material  from  the  wharf  to  any 
part  of  the  fort.  Old  army  officers  protested  that  the  fort 
would  be  ruined,  that  proper  drainage  would  be  impossible. 
In  the  previous  spring  the  raiji  fell;  for  forty  days  and 
forty  nights  it  poured,  and  the  winds  blew.  The  water 
rose  in  the  fort,  and  the  drains  refused  to  do  their  duty. 


358  A  WAR  DIARY. 

Engineers  said  that  the  fort  was  in  danger;  the  water 
could  not  be  removed  from  the  parade-ground.  Butler 
sent  for  a  steam-engine  and  pumped  it  out.  John  Phoe 
nix,  in  his  great  work  on  Astronomy,  discourses  of  how  to 
"  find "  the  sun  at  sea  :  "You  can  find  the  sun  any  day,"  he 
says,  "  through  a  piece  of  smoked  glass,  when  clouds  do  not 
intervene." 

There  were  many  sights  of  great  interest  at  and  around 
Fortress  Monroe.  Near  the  Chesapeake  and  Hampton 
Hospitals  were  •  graveyards  where  the  dead  soldiers  lay. 
Each  grave  had  its  own  white  wooden  slab,  each  slab  its 
own  inscription,  and  the  slabs  and  inscriptions  were  all 
pretty  much  alike.  The  Hampton  field  covered  a  little 
less  than  one  acre,  and  yet  it  contained  one  thousand  five 
hundred  and  eighty  graves,  and  all  but  three  hundred  of 
them  had  been  made  since  the  preceding  July.  Deaths 
from  wounds  and  sickness  had  fallen  from  ten  to  five  a 
day.  Whatever  might  have  blotted  out  these  lives,  here  lay 
the  bodies  buried,  perhaps  forgotten.  "  Dide  [as  it  was 

sometimes  spelled], ,"  is  all  the  passing  stranger 

knows.  Near  the  beach  by  the  Fortress  there  was  an  old 
enclosure  thickly  covered  with  headboards  and  graves. 
It  was  the  old  Fortress  Monroe  Cemetery,  —  a  lovely  spot. 
The  surf  rolled  in  from  the  ocean,  a  never-ceasing  requiem. 
Before  the  war  much  taste  was  exhibited  in  its  adorn 
ment;  but  so  rudely  did  Death  swing  his  scythe  in  the 
abundant  harvest  of  the  present,  that  for  some  time  but 
little  effort  had  been  made  at  order  or  preservation.  Eebel 
and  Loyal,  soldier  and  sailor,  foreign  and  native,  all  lay 
peacefully  together.  Eulogies  and  prayers  were  inscribed 
in  German  and  French  on  some  of  the  headstones.  On 
some,  too,  the  names  were  in  full,  on  some  abbreviated, 
while  on  others  there  was  a  blank.  The  ground  was  fur 
rowed  with  the  dead.  "  Jo  Johnson,  of  Jeff  Davis  artil- 


MA  P 


O  F 


EASTERN   VIRGINIA- 

South  of  James  River. 
:srarui"e  Miles : 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  359 

lery;"   "Thorn ,  of  North   Carolina  infantry;"   and 

others  of  a  Mississippi,  Georgia,  or  South  Carolina  bat 
talion.  Above  them  the  strife  went  on,  until  friend  and 
foe  should  be  laid  to  rest  side  by  side  in  the  sleep  that 
knows  no  waking. 

Many  of  the  farms  around  the  Fortress  were  occupied  by 
their  original  owners.  Between  Hampton  Creek  and  the 
bay  the  farmers  were  thriving  on  good  prices  for  corn  and 
vegetables.  Two  dollars  a  bushel  was  their  price  for  pota 
toes  (Irish  or  sweet),  ninety-five  cents  a  pound  for  butter, 
and  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents  for  turkeys.  The  farmers 
complained  loudly  of  their  taxes.  The  control  of  the  en 
tire  region  within  the  Department  of  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina  was  exercised  by  Butler.  He  made  the  laws 
and  administered  them,  dealt  out  justice  and  inflicted 
punishment,  levied  fines  and  collected  taxes.  An  enor 
mous  civil  fund,  said  to  amount  to  an  unexpended  quarter 
of  a  million  of  dollars,  was  thus  created,  of  which  Butler 
disposed  as  he  pleased.  Under  the  permissive  power  of 
martial  law,  he  conducted  and  managed  every  movement 
of  every  person  within  his  department.  No  one  could 
enter  without  his  consent;  no  one  could  leave  without 
his  order ;  and  each  paid  from  the  gains  and  profits  of  his 
business  as  much  as  Butler  chose  to  command.  Kimberly 
Brothers  were  traders,  paying  as  ground  rent,  for  the  privi 
lege  of  keeping  a  store  near  the  Fortress,  one  thousand 
'dollars  a  month,  and  paying  it  cheerfully,  recompensing 
themselves  for  this  outlay  from  the  pockets  of  their  cus 
tomers.  Proof  of  this  came  to  me  in  a  charge  of  four 
dollars  for  a  small  turkey.  "  Forty  cents  a  pound,  sah," 
replied  the  grinning  darky  to  my  amazed  expression. 

"  But  does  this  turkey  weigh  ten  pounds  ? " 

"  Dun'no,  sah." 

"  Did  Kimberly  weigh  it  ?  " 


360  A  WAR  DIARY. 

"  Es,  sah." 

"What  did  it  weigh?" 

"Dun'no,  sah;  didn't  tell  me." 

"  Take  it  back,  and  bring  me  the  weight." 

"  Eight  pounds  "  was  soon  returned. 

"  Now  go  and  tell  them  that  forty  times  eight  is  three 
dollars  and  twenty  cents.  Tell  them  to  correct  this  bill" 

"Es,  sah."  And  back  he  came  with  the  figures  for  this 
amount. 

I  was  still  in  doubt.  I  knew  that  the  one-thousand- 
dollar  civil  tax  per  month  was  somewhere  apportioned  on 
that  turkey,  and  I  determined  to  give  my  mind  to  the 
discovery. 

"William,"  to  the  darky,  "how  much  do  you  think 
that  turkey  weighs  ? " 

"  Dun'no,  sah ;  says  eight  pounds." 

"  Go  to  the  commissary,  ask  him  to  weigh  that  turkey, 
and  put  the  weight  on  paper." 

"  Six  pounds,  three  ounces,"  was  in  a  few  minutes  dis 
played  before  my  indignant  eyes. 

"Turkey,  six  pounds  and  three  ounces,  at  forty  cents 
per  pound,  comes  to  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents,"  I  ex 
claimed.  A  brief  note,  reciting  my  wrongs,  brought  from 
the  Brothers  Kimberly  the  reduced  charge  of  two  dollars 
and  fifty  cents,  with  an  apology  for  mistakes,  which  they 
laid  to  a  great  press  of  business. 

Where  there  was  no  money  the  tithing  system  was  en 
forced.  Many  abandoned  farms  were  occupied  by  Govern 
ment  agents,  white  and  black,  paying  a  tithe  of  the  products 
as  rent.  The  negroes  on  the  Hampton  Eoad,  and  beyond, 
had  set  up  the  characteristic  shanty,  quite  recognizable  from 
its  form  and  newness.  There  was  a  collection  of  these 
huts,  called  Slabtown,  near  Hampton.  The  houses  were 
generally  comfortable,  enclosing  a  space  about  as  large 


DISTRICT   OF   EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  361 

as  a  wall-tent,  and  were  made  of  rough  shingles,  riven 
from  an  easily-splitting  wood.  Clusters  of  them  had 
sprung  up  like  mushrooms  at  various  places  on  the  road 
to  Big  Bethel.  At  one,  I  saw  a  schoolhouse  with  pupils 
who  were  genuine  ebony,  and  white  teachers.  There  was 
"  right  smart "  of  stock  at  some  farmyards,  and  a  thrifty- 
looking  peach-orchard  within  two  miles  of  Hampton. 
Some  of  these  contrabands,  slaves  before  the  war,  were 
now  living  on,  and  cultivating  "ole  massa's"  farm,  from 
which  "massa"  had  run  away. 

A  bright,  smart,  colored  fellow,  whom  I  met  about  five 
miles  from  Big  Bethel,  travelled  on  foot  by  my  horse  for 
about  seven  miles  on  my  return,  affording  me  much  enter 
tainment.  He  lived  in  Warwick,  five  miles  from  York- 
town  ;  was  going  to  Hampton  to  meet  his  wife,  unless  he 
encountered  her  on  the  road.  She  had  gone  to  Hampton 
that  morning,  with  a  hired  horse  and  cart,  on  a  shopping 
excursion.  The  husband  had  walked  twelve  miles,  with 
seven  more  before  him,  and  he  had  been  married  five  years, 
too.  He  occupied  a  Government  farm  (the  one  on  which 
he  had  been  raised,  and  from. which  his  master  had  fled), 
and  paid  one  fourth  of  his  produce  as  rental.  To  insure 
returns  from  proper  labor,  the  agent  of  the  Government 
compelled  the  darky  to  buy  a  horse  (for  which  he  charged 
him  ten  dollars  in  gross,  and  one  dollar  a  month  for  six 
months),  which  died  on  his  hands  at  the  expiration  of  four 
months.  Then  there  were  charges  for  the  use  of  a  plough, 
and  a  few  other  little  things  furnished,  —  all  of  which  he 
told  me  was  "  hard  down  on  him,"  particularly  "  de  boss." 
But  I  made  him  admit  that  in  trying  to  do  well  by  himself 
the  horse  had  had  a  hard  time  of  it ;  and  though  he  insisted 
that  he  stinted  himself,  he  admitted  under  pressure  that 
he  had  generally  meat,  corn-bread,  flour,  potatoes,  and  vege 
tables,  with  sugar,  butter,  eggs,  and  chickens.  The  man 


362  A  WAR  DIARY. 

had  his  own  views  of  the  war.  That  the  Eebels  "  nebber 
gib  up,"  he  called  the  necessary  result  of  Rebel  reflection 
upon  the  loss  of  their  slaves.  "  Wen  dey  tink,"  he  said, 
"  nebber  ole  nigger  do  fur  'em  eny  mo',  dey  fight  as  long  as 
dey  last.  Dey  'member  wen  dey  sot  back  in  der  carege  and 
fan  dar  sef  wen  hot,  or  shet  up  wid  glass  cases  wen  cole, 
and  ole  nigger  in  de  sun  and  in  de  snow ;  and  wen  dey 
tink  ob  dat,  dey  fight  on  sure.  Dey  alw'ys  will  fight  wen 
dey  tink  dey  nebber  hab  ole  nigger  eny  mo'."  At  the 
famous  battle  of  Big  Bethel  this  man  was  a  cook  for  the 
"  Sesh,"  as  he  called  the  Rebels.  "  Wat  'stonish  me  mos' 
tyus  to  hear  de  Sesh  brag,  and  den  see  'em  run;  dat 
'stonish  me,  sure." 

Thus  chattering  on,  the  negro  plied  his  legs  stoutly, 
often  wondering,  sometimes  sorrowfully,  where  his  wife 
could  be,  until  I  became  interested  in  the  meeting  of  such 
a  loving  pair.  But  cart  after  cart  rolled  by  without  any 
recognition.  We  were  within  half  a  mile  of  Hampton, 
when  this  faithful  lover  espied  his  wife.  "  Dar  she  comes  ! " 
he  exclaimed  with  a  broad  grin  of  delight.  As  the  pair 
approached,  the  man  was  greeted  with  a  sweet  and  affec 
tionate  salutation  by  a  good-looking  woman,  who  exclaimed, 
"I  done  feel  like  a  fish  out  ob  water  widout  him."  As 
the  man  climbed  into  the  cart,  his  face  wreathed  with 
smiles  and  his  whole  soul  happy  in  his  love,  I  felt  that 
in  the  sight  of  God,  who  gave  us  hearts  and  affections, 
there  is  but  little  difference  between  high  and  low.  This 
poor  freed  slave,  in  his  humble  toil  under  his  lowly  roof, 
was  much  happier,  and  more  blessed  in  his  happiness,  than 
many  of  the  mighty  of  the  land  with  all  their  external 
grandeur.  An  honest  man  is  generally  a  happy  one. 

The  new  iron-clad  "Dictator"  arrived  here  about  this 
time  from  New  York,  under  the  command  of  Commodore 
Rodgers,  who  captured  the  Rebel  gunboat  "Atlanta"  off 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  363 

Savannah  River.  This  iron-clad  was  of  the  monitor  class, 
and  about  three  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length,  and 
greater  in  beam  than  any  other  ship  afloat.  Ready  for 
sea,  she  drew  twenty-one  feet  of  .water.  Her  engines  were 
ponderous,  being  of  five  thousand  horse-power,  and  her 
speed  was  sixteen  miles  an  hour.  Her  side  armor  was  of 
iron,  nine  inches  thick,  backed  with  four  feet  of  oak.  Her 
turret  was  of  iron,  thirteen  inches  in  thickness,  and  her  top 
was  covered  with  seven-inch  iron  and  oak.  The  roomy 
apartments  for  officers  and  crew,  the  fire-room,  coal-bunk 
ers,  and  engine-room  filled  me  with  amazement.  At  my 
request  the  Commodore  ordered  the  steam  to  be  turned  on. 
Through  the  enormous  cylinders  and  connecting  pipes  the 
steam  rushed,  hissing  like  a  demon,  imparting  motion  to 
the  huge  cranks  and  levers  which  communicated  with  the 
main  shaft.  I  stood  on  an  elevation,  from  which,  accord 
ing  to  the  chief  engineer,  the  best  view  of  the  machinery 
could  be  had,  to  witness  the  wondrous  adaptability  of  this 
immense  mass.  At  the 'first  glance  all  was  chaos;  the 
second  showed  the  application  of  the  means  to  the  end. 
But  there  was  yet  more  to  follow ;  moving  through  an 
elliptical  opening  into  a  water-tight  compartment,  I  seemed 
descending  into  infernal  depths.  The  passage-way  was 
lined  on  either  side  with  cavernous  furnaces  in  double 
rows,  forty-eight  in  all,  blazing  with  the  glare  of  anthracite 
coal.  Beyond,  over  a  railway,  through  a  subterranean,  or 
more  properly  subaqueous,  passage,  was  the  coal  mine,  — 
food  for  these  dark  and  fiery  furnaces.  The  ventilation 
was  perfect.  In  the  engine-room,  the  fire-room,  the  coal 
mine,  the  cabins,  wherever  we  went,  the  cool  air  swept  over 
us,  making  the  temperature  delightful.  This  was  effected 
by  a  large  wheel,  which,  revolving  on  an  axis  perpendicular 
to  the  horizon,  sucked  in  the  cold  air  from  the  outside,  and 
forced  it  by  its  paddles  through  the  ship.  The  use  of 


364  A  WAR  DIARY. 

water  for  cleansing  purposes  was  ingeniously  arranged,  as 
indeed  any  one  will  see  it  would  have  to  be,  where  every 
thing  but  the  turret  was  either  under  or  flush  with  the 
sea.  To  prevent  the  rushing  in  of  water,  a  valve  closed 
communication  with  the  outside,  until  the  basin  was  so 
secured  that  there  could  be  no  overflow.  Everything  was 
then  forced  out  with  one  or  two  strokes  of  an  air-pump, 
and  the  valve  closed  again.  From  the  hold  we  went  to  the 
turret.  I  did  not  at  the  time  quite  take  in  a  very  inter 
esting  discourse  which  the  Commodore  gave  on  the  mode 
of  preserving  the  magnetic  needle  from  deflection  by  the 
mass  of  iron  around  the  compass.  The  height  at  which 
the  needle  was  placed  was  clear  enough,  but  how  a  card 
floating  in  liquid  was  arranged  to  keep  the  needle  in  the 
plane  of  the  magnetic  meridian,  I  did  not  quite  catch. 
Two  enormous  fifteen-inch  guns,  and  the  method  of  load 
ing  them,  next  attracted  my  attention,  and  filled  me  with 
renewed  admiration.  Eodgers  felt  that  his  ship  could  whip 
anything  afloat,  unless  it  met  its  like,  when  there  would 
come  the  "  tug  of  war." 

On  Christmas  day  news  was  brought  to  Fortress  Monroe 
by  an  ocean  steamer  from  Savannah  that  Sherman  had 
occupied  that  city,  captured  thirty  thousand  bales  of  cot 
ton,  and  lost  General  Hardee,  who  had  escaped,  through  a 
loop-hole  between  the  Savannah  Eiver  and  the  coast,  with 
ten  thousand  men.  How  sweet  in  the  nostrils  of  cormo 
rant  non-combatants  was  the  odor  of  those  thirty  thousand 
bales,  and  the  opening  trade  which  loomed  up  through 
Sherman's  triumph !  How  was  greed  sharpened  and  cu 
pidity  increased !  The  telegraph  had  hardly  carried  to  New 
York  the  news,  before  the  wires  vibrated  with  schemes  and 
petitions,  and  bargains  for  military  permits  to  gather  up 
the  treasure,  quite  indifferent  to  what  went  in  to  pay  for 
the  cotton,  turpentine,  and  tar  that  might  come  out.  There 


DISTRICT   OF   EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  365 

were  cormorant  traders  bent  on  making  money ;  cormorant 
provost-marshals  regulating  trade ;  cormorant  tax-collectors 
drawing  money  into  invisible  pockets  for  personal  use; 
cormorant  Treasury-agents  seizing  the  so-called  Eebel  pro 
ducts  of  the  country  —  furniture,  abandoned  dwellings, 
whatever  they  could  lay  their  hands  on  —  to  convert  them 
into  cash,  which  sometimes  found  its  way  into  the  Treasury ; 
cormorant  philanthropists,  who  laid  up  great  treasure  of 
reputation  at  small  expenditure  of  discomfort,  who  made 
great  professions  and  bore  small  burdens !  It  seemed 
possible  that  it  might  have  been  better  for  the  honest, 
earnest,  and  hearty  prosecution  of  the  war  that  Sherman 
had  not  left  one  stone  upon  another  in  the  Eebel  city. 

There  were  many  rumors  afloat  here,  spoken  with  bated 
breath,  —  for  Butler  had  filled  his  department  with  spies 
and  informers,  —  of  the  means  and  methods  by  which  a 
most  infamous  Rebel  trade  was  maintained  within  the  ter 
ritory  ruled  over  by  Butler  and  his  confidants ;  of  the  trade 
stores  beyond  our  picket  lines,  in  full  blast,  under  Treasury 
regulations  which  were  not  enforced ;  of  the  military  com 
mander  of  the  District  of  Eastern  Virginia,  who  adjudged 
the  amount  and  kind  of  sales  that  were  defined  by  the 
Treasury  regulations,  and  from  whom  permission  to  make 
such  sales  was  obtained ;  of  a  certain  detective,  disreputa 
ble  and  degraded  even  for  a  detective,  who  farmed  out  his. 
privileges  of  securing  permits  from  a  military  sub-com 
mander  of  the  department  for  such  compensation  as  would 
remunerate  himself  and  his  master,  —  a  man  who  at  that 
moment  had  been  charged,  so  he  informed  me,  with  seeing 
that  no  telegraphic  information  of  disaster  to  Butler's  expe 
dition,  if  there  should  be  disaster,  should  be  sent  from 
Fortress  Monroe.  Did  Butler's  prophetic  soul  foresee  the 
dark  result  ? 

On  the  27th  of  December,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening, 


366  A  WAR  DIARY. 

we  heard  that  the  expedition  against  Fort  Fisher  had  termi 
nated  in  disaster.  Butler  was  the  herald  of  his  own  dis 
honor.  At  nine  o'clock,  with  General  Weitzel,  he  returned 
in  the  same  steamer  in  which  but  one  short  week  before 
he  had  sailed  in  all  his  glory.  He  was  at  his  own  quarters 
within  the  Fortress  with  an  acrid  temper,  though  why  or 
wherefore  none  seemed  to  know,  and  few  to  care. 

As  has  been  narrated,  transports,  with  the  troops  of  the 
expedition  destined  for  the  capture  of  Fort  Fisher,  at  the 
mouth  of  Cape  Fear  Eiver  on  the  coast  of  North  Carolina, 
left  Fortress  Monroe  on  the  thirteenth.  Fine  weather  fa 
vored  the  plan.  The  troops  arrived  on  the  fifteenth,  but 
the  naval  fleet  was  not  there.  The  weather  changed,  and 
the  transports  put  into  Beaufort,  where  fresh  supplies  of 
water  and  provisions  were  secured.  On  the  twenty-third 
the  troops  and  ships  were  ready,  and  awaiting  Butler's 
grand  pyrotechnic  display,  for  which  he  had  been  for  some 
time  preparing.  This  consisted  in  an  explosion  near  the 
hostile  fort  of  more  than  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  tons 
of  powder,  which  had  been  packed  into  the  hold  and  on 
the  decks  of  an  iron  steamer  (belonging  to  the  navy),  for 
conveyance  as  near  the  fort  as  she  could  be  run.  The  bet 
ter  to  deceive  the  enemy,  the  vessel  was  to  play  the  part  of 
a  blockade-runner  under  fire  of  our  guns. 

On  the  night  of  the  twenty-third  the  grand  perform 
ance  came  off.  Fort  Fisher,  situated  at  the  angle  of  the 
peninsula  made  by  the  Cape  Fear  Eiver  and  the  ocean, 
was  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  shore. 
The  explosion  took  place,  as  desired,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  from  the  landing,  and  about  four  hundred  from 
the  fort.  There  was  a  great  shock,  a  terrific  noise,  and  a 
dense  smoke ;  but  the  fort  was  uninjured.  A  captured 
Rebel  officer,  near  the  fort  when  the  powder  was  fired, 
was  carried  off  his  feet  for  some  distance,  uninjured. 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  367 

The  ships  of  our  own  navy  were  fortunately  unharmed  ; 
they  lay  off  a  great  distance  for  safety.  Over  half  a  mil 
lion  of  dollars  having  been  thrown  away  on  this  idle  ex 
periment,  the  fleet  and  the  troops  began  operations.  At 
one  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fourth  the  ships 
opened  fire,  continuing  during  the  day,  and  firing,  according 
to  a  Eebel  newspaper,  thirty  shells  a  minute.  At  night,  two 
divisions  of  three  thousand  men,  under  General  Ames  and 
General  Paine,  were  thrown  ashore  about  three  or  four  miles 
above  the  fort.  By  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fifth,  the 
debarkation  was  complete.  During  this  day  the  navy  con 
tinued  their  fire,  and  the  troops  drew  near  the  fort.  When 
night  came  on,  our  skirmishers  were  within  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  of  the  outworks.  As  yet  there  had  been  no 
attack  upon  Weitzel's  force  by  any  considerable  body  of 
the  enemy,  and  the  few  guns  fired  from  the  fort  had  hurt 
no  one.  It  was  plainly  perceived  that  the  fort  was  not 
entirely  surrounded  by  a  ditch,  and  that  it  was  casemated 
towards  the  ocean,  but  open  on  the  river  side.  An  officer 
of  Colonel  N.  M  Curtis's  brigade,  under  cover  of  the  dark 
ness,  stole  around  between  the  river  and  the  fort,  got  inside, 
and  brought  off  the  Eebel  flag,  which  had  been  shot  away 
in  our  naval  bombardment.  Once  during  the  night  our 
picket  line  had  become  confused,  and  in  an  attempt  to 
re-establish  it  —  which  was  successful  —  there  were  brief 
exchanges  of  musketry,  and  the  Eebels  claimed  to  have  re 
pulsed  us.  At  this  time  Colonel  Curtis  felt  sure  that  the 
fort  could  have  been  taken  by  assault,  and  he  wished  to 
make  the  attempt,  but  was  forbidden  to  do  so,  and  ordered 
to  withdraw  to  the  place  of  debarkation.  Why  this  was 
done  Curtis  did  not  know ;  but  he  was  grieved  and  disap 
pointed,  and  so  expressed  himself  to  me  after  his  return 
to  the  Fortress,  declaring  again  and  again  that  then  and 
there  that  fort  could  and  should  have  been  captured.  The 


368  A   WAR  DIARY. 

valor  shown  by  Colonel  Curtis  when,  a  few  weeks  later,  he 
exhibited  such  conspicuous  bravery  in  the  capture  of  Fort 
Fisher,  where  he  came  near  losing  his  life,  entitles  him  to 
consideration. 

On  the  twenty-sixth,  Butler's  grand  expedition  took  to 
their  boats  and  sailed  for  Fortress  Monroe.  A  few  of  our 
men  were  wounded,  and  we  took  two  hundred  and  fifty 
prisoners,  who  were  captured  in  the  outworks.  General 
Weitzel  was  at  the  front  with  Curtis  on  the  night  of  the 
twenty-fifth.  Did  Weitzel  order  this  withdrawal,  thinking 
the  fort  could  not  be  taken  ?  Is  there  a  mystery  about  it  ? 
Would  an  assaulting  column  have  found  themselves  in  a 
trap?  General  Ames  thought  the  naval  delay,  from  the 
fifteenth  to  the  twenty-third,  enabled  the  enemy  to  throw 
a  large  force  into  the  fort ;  but  he  was  not  sure  that  this 
was  the  case,  and  Curtis  was  sure  it  was  not.  Butler,  who 
was  punished  for  his  timidity  and  his  failure  in  ordering 
the  withdrawal,  was  evidently  frightened  away.  Even  a 
quartermaster  asked  me  if  Butler  should  not  have  known 
the  strength  of  the  fort  before  he  attacked  it. 

The  two  hundred  and  twenty  prisoners  captured  at  the 
half -moon  and  other  batteries  were  brought  to  Fortress 
Monroe.  Not  the  grave  only  but  the  cradle  must  have 
been  robbed  when  this  dwarfed  and  weazened  lot  frightened 
Butler  away  from  Fort  Fisher.  That  the  navy  were  justly 
indignant  because  their  efforts  were  not  seconded  by  the 
land  forces,  that  the  newspapers  praised  Curtis  and  con 
demned  Butler,  and  that  gold  rose  from  two  hundred  and 
eight  and  one-half  to  two  hundred  and  sixteen  and  seven- 
eighths,  were  among  the  interesting  topics  of  the  day. 

But  whatever  Admiral  Porter  thought  of  Butler's  flight 
(it  was  said  that  he  intended  to  put  upon  the  General  the 
blame  for  not  taking  Fort  Fisher),  it  did  not  move  him  to 
follow  Butler's  example.  All  that  could  be  done  to  dis- 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  369 

mount  the  guns  and  knock  the  work  into  an  unsightly 
mass,  Porter  did,  and  with  such  effect  that  again  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  determined  with  the  same  troops  and  an 
other  general  to  assault  and  occupy  the  fort. 

On  the  5th  of  January,  1865,  very  early  in  the  morning, 
Colonel  Curtis  aroused  me  with  the  information  that, 
with  his  brigade,  he  was  again  to  take  ship ;  and  that  the 
same  troops  that  had  but  just  returned  from  Fort  Fisher 
(Ames's  division  and  Paine's  colored),  with  an  additional 
brigade,  in  all  numbering  eight  thousand  men,  the  whole 
commanded  by  General  Alfred  Terry,  would  be  down  from 
the  front  that  day.  Where  they  were  going  he  did  not 
know,  though  he  had  seen  the  order  to  report  to  Sher 
man  at  Savannah,  and  Terry  told  him  to  make  this  pub 
lic,  but  he  looked  when  he  spoke  as  if  Savannah  were 
not  the  real  destination  of  the  expedition.  In  the  after 
noon,  General  Ames  arrived  with  the  whole  of  his  divi 
sion.  He  also  had  seen  Terry's  orders  to  go  to  Sherman  ; 
but  certain  sealed  orders  which  Grant  had  given  Terry, 
not  to  be  opened  until  at  sea,  Ames  had  not  seen.  Every 
thing  pointed  to  a  renewal  of  the  attack  upon  Fort  Fisher. 
The  troops  were  the  same,  the  staff-officer  from  Grant's 
headquarters  was  the  same,  —  all  but  Butler,  and  he  knew 
nothing  of  the  destination  of  the  expedition ;  he  had  been 
left  out. 

On  the  evening  of  the  fifth  the  troops  went  to  sea.  But 
ler  at  Fortress  Monroe  was  suspicious  of  the  movement. 
"Terry  is  going  to  try  it,  they  say,"  he  knowingly  re 
marked  ;  adding,  "  I  shall  be  glad  if  they  take  Fort  Fisher, 
but  I  am  sorry  for  Terry.  However,  I  shall  be  glad  if 
they  take  it ;  and  if  they  do  not,  I  shall  find  my  vindi 
cation."  Butler  then  informed  me  that  Grant  had  been 
ordered  to  send  a  second  expedition ;  that  there  had  been 

a  stormy  meeting  of  the  Cabinet ;  that  his  (Butler's)  de- 

24 


370  A  WAR  DIARY. 

spatches  were  refused  publication;  and  that  Porter  was 
ordered  to  run  by  the  forts.  Butler  then  addressed  him 
self  to  a  defence  of  his  own  course.  First  making  a  rude 
sketch  of  the  peninsula,  with  positions  of  the  forts,  place 
of  landing,  trace  and  mode  of  construction  of  Fort  Fisher, 
he  pointed  out  where  Colonel  Curtis's  picket  line  was, 
how  far  from  the  outer  ditch,  and  explained  (as  he  thought 
satisfactorily)  how  impossible  it  would  have  been  for 
Curtis  to  have  taken  the  fort.  Moreover,  argued  Butler, 
"  Curtis  never  got  in  the  rear  of  the  work ;  he  was  pre 
vented  by  piling,  which  he  never  passed."  Of  its  garrison 
Butler  was  equally  confident :  he  knew  they  had  all  the 
men  inside  the  work  they  could  use ;  he  had  information 
that  a  large  force,  more  numerous  than  his  own,  were 
just  from  Eichmond,  and  not  two  miles  in  the  rear  of  the 
work. 

Thus  did  Butler,  until  the  9th  of  January,  disport  him 
self  to  all  who  would  listen  upon  his  great  military  achieve 
ment  in  running  away  from  Fort  Fisher.  On  that  day 
an  order  which  arrived  from  Washington,  relieving  him 
from  further  command  and  sending  him  to  Lowell  to 
await  orders,  started  him  on  a  new  course  of  scandalous 
and  bitter  vituperation.  In  the  presence  of  a  large  num 
ber  of  staff  officers  and  clerks,  he  avowed  himself  to  be 
the  last  of  those  monumental  volunteer  officers  who,  start 
ing  out  in  high  command  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  had 
been  removed  by  "regular  army  influence."  As  this  re 
mark  was  delivered,  with  furious  irony  or  ironical  fury,  in 
my  presence,  I  replied :  "  Not  so,  sir ;  for  those  who  have 
removed  you  hold,  like  yourself,  volunteer  rank.  The  Pre 
sident  and  Secretary  of  War  are,  like  yourself,  from  the 
people,  and  should  not  be  presumed  to  lean  more  to  reg 
ulars  than  to  volunteers.  "That  is  not  so,"  grimaced 
Butler ;  "  I  am  removed  on  account  of  the  influence  of 


DISTRICT   OF   EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  371 

regular  army  officers  upon  General  Grant, —  one  General 

Patrick,   one   General  Ingalls,  and  another  Colonel . 

I   have    interfered, "  shouted   Benjamin,    "  with    General 

,  who  finds  it  necessary  to  go  to  Washington  once  a 

week  to  do  his  courting,  while  in  the  mean  time  our  horses 

starve.     Besides,  he  wishes  to  marry ,  who  does 

not  like  me  because  I  kept,  so  she  says,  her  husband  from 
being  President ;  and  I  did  do  as  much  as  any  one  to  that 
effect.  I  sent  word  to  -  —  that  if  he  married  - 

— ,  I  hoped  he  would  not  be  dowered  with  all  her  hates." 
Long  did  Butler  discourse  to  his  audience  of  the  spites 
which  had  culminated  in  his  ignominy ;  bitterly  did  he 
strive  to  convince  himself  and  his  hearers  that  not  his  utter 
and  absolute  inability  to  command,  but  jealous  interferen 
ces  and  malign  influences  were  the  cause  of  his  removal 
to  the  serene  and  secure  atmosphere  of  Lowell  in  Massa 
chusetts.  One  thing  more  was  left  him  :  he  could  publish 
a  farewell  order  to  his  troops,  and  he  did  it.  First  recit 
ing,  in  imitation  of  Ossian,  the  heroism  of  his  soldiers,  he 
concluded :  "  Such  men  your  General  could  not  lead  to  sac 
rifice,  and  he  is  relieved."  The  New  York  "Herald"  of  the 
fourteenth,  containing  the  official  reports  of  Butler,  Weitzel, 
and  Ames,  with  certain  letters,  telegrams,  and  indorsements 
by  Grant  relating  to  the  Fort  Fisher  matter,  threw  an  addi 
tional  ray  of  light  upon  that  ill-starred  expedition.  It  may 
seem  strange  that  it  was  through  this  medium  that  these 
official  communications  should  have  first  appeared;  but 
I  was  prepared  for  it  through  a  revelation  from  Butler 
that  his  report  of  the  Fort  Fisher  expedition  which  had 
been  delivered  to  Grant,  was  found  subsequently  on  the 
floor  of  the  Norfolk  Theatre,  where  it  had  evidently 
been  dropped  by  some  one  at  the  play ;  and  this,  Butler 
thought,  might  "  cause  its  publication  by  the  person  who 
picked  it  up." 


372  A  WAR  DIARY. 

However  it  may  have  appeared,  Butler  therein  blamed 
the  navy  for  a  delay  which  lost  to  the  army  three  fine 
days,  in  which  it  could  have  operated  before  the  enemy 
was  reinforced  by  numbers  superior  to  his  own ;  as 
serted  that  an  assault  upon  landing  would  have  been  folly  ; 
that  no  siege  was  contemplated,  and  no  preparation  for 
one  made ;  that  it  would  have  been  bad  generalship  to  have 
kept  his  troops  on  shore  to  await  reinforcements  and  siege 
material ;  and  that  the  same  military  result  might  follow 
the  efforts  of  any  new  expedition  which  might  have  been 
accomplished  by  the  first,  if  it  had  'been  reinforced  and  sup 
plied  with  materials  for  a  siege,  —  perhaps  better,  for  the 
enemy  had  now  been  thrown  off  his  guard. 

General  Grant  reported  that  he  did  not  order  or  contem 
plate  Butler's  presence  with  the  expedition  ;  affirmed  that 
the  delay  in  attacking  was  due  to  the  powder-boat,  —  a 
design  which  he  indirectly  censured ;  that  if  a  landing  were 
effected  and  an  assault  found  not  feasible,  a  siege  was  con 
templated  ;  and  that  the  return  with  the  troops  to  Fortress 
Monroe  was  in  violation  of  his  order.  When  Butler  saw  in 
the  "  Herald "  Grant's  comments  upon  his  report,  he  was 
excited  and  angry,  crying  out,  "  Well,  he  makes  a  direct 
issue ;  he  says  I  was  not  ordered  to  accompany  the  expedi 
tion.  I  can  prove  that  he  directed  his  aid,  Comstock,  to 
accompany  me."  Where,  Butler  did  not  say ;  but  as  he 
had  previously  told  me  that  he  went  "  to  keep  Porter  from 
overriding  Weitzel,"  I  fancied  that  in  his  peevishness  he 
had  resorted  to  pettifogging. 

On  Sunday  the  fifteenth,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
Butler  left  Fortress  Monroe  for  Lowell.  He  was  escorted 
to  the  boat  by  a  small  body  of  troops,  and  by  Generals 
Shepley  and  Marston,  both  of  whom  hung  about  him  as  a 
victim  of  regular  army  persecution.  Once  in  the  cabin  of 
the  boat,  —  where  his  family  had  secluded  themselves  in 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  373 

their  state-rooms,  —  none  were  so  poor  as  to  do  him  rev 
erence.  Butler  seemed  excited  and  unhappy.  Cut  down 
in  the  spring-tide  of  his  popularity,  it  was  with  pleasure 
that  he  grasped  the  hand  of  a  coal-heaver  who  happened 
to  be  passing,  and  who  was  much  astonished  at  the  unex 
pected  honor. 

Out  of  all  this  blackness  one  ray  of  light  still  shone 
above  Butler's  horizon.  The  Massachusetts  Legislature 
had  deferred  its  election  for  a  United  States  senator,  and 
spoke  of  Butler  as  a  possible  candidate.  The  deposed  and 
disgraced  general  was  in  his  office  at  the  Fortress  when 
this  plan  of  the  newspapers  dispelled  for  a  moment  the 
clouds  which  enveloped  him.  The  office  was  filled  with 
people,  —  spies,  detectives,  clerks,  confidential  agents,  and 
reporters ;  a  goodly  crowd.  Ben  availed  himself  of  his 

opportunity.    Jn  boisterous  tones  he  ordered  Captain 

to  write  to  Henry  Wilson  an  epistle  in  which  "  duty  to  the 
State,"  "  claims  of  friendship,"  and  "  your  own  unqualified 
services  "  laid  that  foundation  for  official  intimacy  on  which 
were  subsequently  reared  so  many  political  monstrosi 
ties  that  even  Henry  Wilson  at  last  threw  back  the  alli 
ance  in  disgust.  Even  Sumner,  who  was  won,  and  used, 
and  flung  away,  could  not  despise  Ben  Butler  more.  But 
ler's  civil-fund  system  had  hardly  been  throttled  by  his 
departure ;  the  artesian  well  and  Dutch  Gap  had  hardly 
been  baptized  with  the  names  of  "  Butler's  Folly,"  which 
they  have  since  borne ;  Gillmore  had  hardly  been  returned 
from  the  active  service  of  the  James  to  the  quiet  of  his  old 
command  at  South  Carolina, — when  a  vessel,  covered  with 
flags  and  firing  its  rejoicing  guns,  brought  to  the  Fortress 
at  an  early  hour  of  the  seventeenth  the  news  that  Fort 
Fisher  had  been  taken  by  assault  after  a  severe  struggle  on 
Saturday  the  fourteenth,  at  three  in  the  afternoon.  Under 
a  civilian  brevet  major-general,  with  the  same  troops  and 


374  A  WAR  DIARY. 

a  few  more  added,  Fort  Fisher  had  fallen.  General  Terry, 
the  hero  of  the  hour,  had  entered  service  from  civil  life  as 
the  commander  of  a  Connecticut  regiment,  and  had  won 
his  promotion  and  his  honors  by  study  and  practice  in  a 
modest  and  painstaking  way.  He  had  never  blustered  of 
what  he  would  do,  and  failed ;  we  had  first  heard  of  him 
through  his  successes.  Colonel  Curtis  also  was  vindicated 
at  last.  He  lay,  seriously  wounded  in  the  eye,  on  a  boat 
just  in  from  the  scene,  on  its  way  to  Chesapeake  Hospital. 
Instant  promotions  followed  as  a  reward  for  this  gallant 
affair,  —  General  Terry  to  be  a  full  major-general  of  vol 
unteers,  Ames  to  be  a  major-general  by  brevet,  and  Curtis 
to  be  a  full  brigadier. 

And  these  promotions  were  justly  deserved.  We  will 
not  here  discuss  degrees  of  merit.  In  the  words  of  Gen 
eral  Ames,  "  seldom  have  we  passed  through  a  fiercer  fire." 
Our  troops,  he  wrote  (in  a  private  letter  from  Fort  Fisher), 
were  put  into  position,  —  Colonel  Comstock's  formation 
(an  officer  of  General  Grant's  staff,  who  accompanied  both 
expeditions  and  who  knew  the  region,  and  that  this  expe 
dition  came  to  assault  the  fort)  being  adopted.  The  assault 
took  place  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  In  the  ad 
vance,  Ames  lost  three  of  the  five  staff  officers  who  started 
with  him.  All  day  long  he  fought  his  men  with  sound 
judgment  and  valor.  The  struggle  at  one  time  was  fear 
ful, —  the  result  being  so  doubtful  in  the  mind  of  General 
Terry  that  he  gave  an  order  to  some  one  to  tell  Ames  to 
make  a  vigorous  effort,  and  if  it  failed  to  withdraw  at  once. 
This  order  did  not  reach  Ames,  and  he  fought  on.  Night 
came.  Ames  thought  a  movement  should  be  made  to  gain 
the  whole  work.  He  sent  for  General  Terry,  who  came ; 
so  did  Colonel  Comstock.  What  should  be  done  ?  Terry 
proposed  one  plan,  Comstock  another,  and  Ames  a  third, 
which  he  (Ames)  carried  out,  and  soon  had  the  work. 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  375 

General  Whiting,  its  commander,  surrendered  to  General 
Ames. 

The  Secretary  of  War,  in  writing  to  the  President  from 
Fortress  Monroe  concerning  Fort  Fisher,  did  not  mention 
General  Ames,  who  fought  so  bravely.  General  Curtis, 
too,  fought  like  a  lion.  I  visited  him  in  hospital,  and  went 
over  the  attack  with  him, — his  position;  how  the  palisades 
were  cut  away ;  how  the  parapet  was  gained  by  escalade, 
by  the  use  of  sword  and  bayonet ;  how  they  struggled  inch 
by  inch,  driving  the  Eebels,  who  fought  with  desperation, 
from  the  bomb-proof.  Curtis  had  talked  with  Colonel 
Lamb,  a  Eebel  captive,  who  said  that  in  Butler's  expedi 
tion  there  were  no  veterans  in  the  fort,  while  in  Terry's 
the  fort  was  filled  with  Lee's  troops.  Weitzel,  however, 
who  accompanied  Butler,  attributed  Terry's  success  to  a 
diversion  made  by  the  sailors  from  the  fleet,  which  misled 
the  Eebels  and  drew  off  attention  from  the  real  point  of 
attack.1 

In  the  same  hospital  where  Curtis  was  lying  were 
wounded  Eebel  officers  from  Fort  Fisher,  —  among  them 
General  Whiting  and  Colonel  Lamb,  the  latter  grievously 
hurt,  and  yet  not  forgetting  to  send  greeting  to  General 
Curtis  for  his  valor.  Such  are  the  amenities  of  war. 
Among  others  dreadfully  wounded  in  this  affair  I  found 
the  brave  General  Pennypacker,  who  suffered  too  much  to 
be  sensible  of  the  glory  he  had  gained ;  his  sufferings  were 
indeed  terrible. 

At  this  period  the  War  Department  was  once  more 
aroused  by  rumors  that  a  large  trade  in  contraband  of  war 

1  Since  the  war,  Colonel  Lamb,  in  a  reported  criticism  of  Jefferson  Davis's 
statements,  in  his  "Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Confederate  Government,"  con 
cerning  Fort  Fisher,  says  that  when  Butler  attacked  him,  with  6,500  men, 
he  had  but  1,371  men  in  the  fort ;  and  that  when  the  fort  was  taken  he  had 
but  1,900. 


376  A  WAR  DIARY. 

was  being  carried  on  from  and  through  Norfolk  with  the 
Rebel  army  under  Lee.  General  Grant  was  ordered  to  ap 
point  a  military  commission  to  examine  into  this  matter, 
and  to  try  suspected  persons.  General  Ord,  who  had  on 
the  fifteenth  relieved  Butler  and  assumed  command  of  the 
Departments  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  was  directed 
by  Grant  to  comply  with  the  Secretary's  instructions; 
whereupon  my  name  as  chief  of  that  commission  was 
submitted  to  Grant,  and  by  him,  in  a  letter  written  to 
Ord,  heartily  approved.  It  was  in  vain  to  remonstrate,  or 
to  remind  Ord  that  since  the  30th  of  December  I  had  been 
hurrying  through  a  court-martial,  at  his  suggestion,  in  order 
to  take  command  either  of  the  front  at  Bermuda  Hun 
dred,  or  of  a  division  in  the  Army  of  the  James,  both  of 
which  he  had  placed  at  my  disposal.  No  excuses  or  remon 
strances  were  accepted  or  allowed,  and  I  entered  upon  the 
duty  assigned  to  me.  To  go  into  the  history  of  all  the 
trading  and  traders  in  Norfolk,  to  know  what  goods  they 
had  received  and  how  these  goods  had  been  distributed, 
presented  a  fine  piece  of  work,  which,  however,  I  hoped 
to  dispose  of  before  active  operations  under  Grant  should 
begin.  Rumors  were  everywhere  current  that  ardent  lov 
ers  of  their  country,  many  of  them  from  Lowell,  Mass.,  were 
engaged  in  dividing  the  profits  of  a  contraband  trade  car 
ried  on  extensively  in  the  district  bounded  by  the  Albe- 
marle  Sound  on  the  south,  and  extending  as  far  west  as 
the  Rebel  commissaries  found  it  convenient  to  establish 
their  de*p6ts. 

On  the  21st  of  January,  at  eleven  A.  M.,  at  Norfolk,  Vir 
ginia,  the  reputed  headquarters  of  the  Lowell  ring,  the 
commission  were  to  assemble  and  try  such  persons  as  might 
be  implicated  in  trading  with  the  Rebels,  in  supplying 
them  with  food  or  other  aid  and  comfort  not  authorized  by 
military  orders  or  instructions  from  the  War  Department. 


DISTRICT   OF   EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  377 

The  first  day,  January  23,  was  devoted  to  the  examination 
of  the  military  commander  of  the  District  of  Eastern  Vir 
ginia.  General  Shepley's  examination  revealed  that  on 
the  1st  of  December  the  port  of  Norfolk  was  opened  to 
commerce ;  that  prior  to  that  date  goods  were  allowed  to 
enter  only  upon  the  application  of  a  trader  approved  by  the 
commander  of  the  district,  by  the  department  commander, 
and  by  the  War  Department,  with  invoices  in  duplicate 
forwarded  to  the  Treasury  Department.  It  also  appeared 
that  since  December  no  restrictions  on  the  admission  of 
goods,  wares,  and  merchandise  to  Norfolk  had  been  exer 
cised  ;  that  our  pickets  did  not  cover  the  neutral  territory 
between  the  enemy's  lines  and  our  own ;  that  there  were 
three  stores  for  trading  purposes  on,  within,  or  outside  our 
picket  lines  ;  that  a  territory  claimed  as  loyal  beyond  these 
lines  was  supplied  by  these  stores ;  that  Norfolk  merchants 
had  been  permitted  to  take  goods  into  this  territory ;  that 
no  particular  restrictions  had  been  placed  on  the  amounts 
which  individuals  might  purchase  of  these,  and  no  particu 
lar  caution  used  to  prevent  purchasing  by  people  from  the 
lines  of  actual  Eebel  occupation. 

On  the  twenty-fourth,  the  examination  of  Shepley  was 
resumed.  It  occupied  the  whole  day,  and  revealed  that 
but  little  attention  had  been  paid  to  the  Treasury  regula 
tion  of  allowing  the  Yankee  trader  to  purchase  one  third 
of  the  value  of  goods  sold  (not  contraband  of  war)  in  cotton 
and  other  products  from  within  insurrectionary  States. 
VvThether  from  our  revelations  or  because  of  new  knowl 
edge  of  the  unpardonable  iniquities  allowed  in  Norfolk, 
General  Grant  sent  an  order  to  Shepley  to  allow  no  more 
goods  to  go  into  insurrectionary  regions. 

On  Saturday,  the  25th  of  February,  the  last  testimony 
was  taken  on  the  subject  of  contraband  trade  from  Norfolk. 
The  examination  had  lasted  more  than  one  month.  In  this 


378  A  WAR  DIARY. 

time  over  fifty  witnesses  had  been  examined,  one  thousand 
and  ninety-six  pages  of  testimony  taken,  and  a  report  of 
sixty  pages,  without  accompanying  abstracts,  made.  In 
the  mean  while,  great  changes  had  taken  place.  Shepley 
had  been  removed  from  the  command  of  the  District  of 
Eastern  Virginia,  and  from  his  position  as  military  governor 
of  Norfolk.  Through  an  order  which  I  vainly  protested 
against,  I  was  compelled  on  the  llth  of  February  to  take 
upon  myself  temporarily  the  command. 

The  military  duties  of  the  district  I  found  to  be  coex 
tensive  with  almost  all  the  requirements  of  the  Depart 
ment  of  Virginia,  save  the  management  of  the  Army  of 
the  James  in  the  field.  Among  others  were  included  the 
guarding  and  holding  all  the  territory  in  Virginia  south  of 
the  James,  and  north  of  it  up  to  the  lines  of  Grant's  opera 
tions,  including  the  Peninsular  lines  at  Williamsburg  and 
Yorktown,  as  well  as  the  eastern  shore.  Within  this 
large  area  were  to  be  found  forts,  field-works,  and  troops, 
prisons,  military  and  civil,  almshouses  and  poorhouses, 
hospitals  for  citizens  and  soldiers,  magazines  and  arsenals, 
contrabands  and  refugees ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  was  in 
cluded  the  imprisonment  of  the  scoundrels  who  had  been 
engaged  in  contraband  trade  with  the  enemy,  the  breaking 
up  of  trade-stores  on  and  outside  our  picket  lines,  and  the 
shutting  up  in  Norfolk  of  all  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise 
beyond  possibility  of  escape  to  the  enemy's  lines.  The 
government  and  control  of  the  city  of  Norfolk  involved 
also  judicious  and  continuous  labor.  Being  charged  with 
the  care  of  all  its  civil  and  municipal  duties,  I  admin 
istered  justice  between  quarrelsome  neighbors;  decided 
causes  on  appeals  from  the  provost-court;  cared  for  the 
lighting,  cleaning,  and  guarding  of  the  streets  ;  approved 
licenses  for  trade  within  our  lines  of  absolute  military 
occupation,  or  without,  where  the  supplies  under  any  one 


DISTRICT   OF   EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  379 

permit  going  from  Norfolk  were  only  enough  to  feed  a 
single  family  for  a  day  or  more ;  watched  over  the  markets ; 
with  many  other  matters,  an  enumeration  of  which  would 
tire  one  to  read.  Among  them,  however,  I  may  mention  a 
Congressional  committee  appointed  by  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  to  investigate  this  great  crime  of  contraband 
trade.  This  committee,  of  which  the  Hon.  E.  B.  Wash- 
burn  was  chairman,  sat  with  me  in  Norfolk,  heard  and 
reported  the  same  testimony  from  the  mouths  of  the 
same  witnesses  that  had  been  before  my  commission,  and 
expressed  themselves  in  their  report  in  as  strong  a  manner 
as  I  had  done  concerning  that  crime  which  would  not  have 
been  possible  without  the  assent  and  approval  of  generals 
high  in  command. 

Besides  this,  another  investigation  devolved  upon  our 
commission.  Butler  had  set  up  "an  organ"  in  Norfolk, 
"  The  New  Regime,"  —  his  advocate  and  clarion,  —  edited 
by  one  Clark,  of  Massachusetts,  formerly  a  newspaper 
man  of  Boston,  but  now  a  staff  officer  and  follower  of  the 
Butlerian  dispensation.  Through  reports  made  to  Gen 
eral  Grant,  that  soldiers  were  detached  from  their  com 
panies  to  run  Clark's  printing-office,  Ord  was  instructed 
to  direct  my  commission  to  inquire  into  the  management 
of  this  paper,  and  to  ascertain  and  report  "  by  whom  and 
by  what  authority  the  same  has  been  carried  on,  and 
whether  any  commissioned  or  non-commissioned  officers 
or  enlisted  men  have  by  detail  or  otherwise  been  engaged 
upon  it."  Let  it  suffice  to  say  here  that  we  found  that  all 
the  reports  made  to  Grant  were  true,  and  that  a  full  and 
circumstantial  account  thereof  may  be  found  in  the  report 
of  the  commission,  on  file  within  the  archives  of  the  War 
Department  at  Washington.  Butler's  organ  was  instantly 
suppressed,  the  enlisted  printers  and  compositors  returned 
to  their  companies  to  perform  the  duty  for  which  they 


380  A  WAR  DIARY. 

were  receiving  Government  pay,  and  the  presses  and  types 
returned  to  their  owners,  who  had  been  despoiled  of  them 
by  Butler's  orders.  And  thus  the  whole  establishment 
was  rendered  extremely  unprofitable  as  a  money-making 
investment. 

My  action  in  limiting  trade  within  this  district  to  the 
lines  of  absolute  military  occupation,  and  allowing  no 
cotton  to  be  purchased  outside  of  our  lines  or  to  come  in 
to  them,  caused  a  great  deal  of  excitement  among  traders 
and  Treasury  agents,  who  had  never  been  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  every  pound  of  cotton  entering  Norfolk  came 
from  an  appointed  agent  within  Lee's  army,  receiving  its 
equivalent  in  army  supplies  (contraband  of  war)  at  rates 
proclaimed  and  published  by  General  Lee,  —  a  transaction 
which  afforded  an  immense  profit  to  the  dastardly  traders. 
General  Grant's  approval  of  my  administration  came  to  me 
in  an  order  which  is  given  below. 

HEADQUARTERS,  ARMIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

CITY  POINT,  VA.,  March  10,  1865. 
(Special  Order,  No.  48.) 

1.  The  operations  on  all  Treasury-trade  Permits,  and  all  other 
trade-permits  and  licenses  to  trade,  by  whomsoever  granted, 
within  the  State  of  Virginia,  —  except  that  portion  known  as 
Eastern  Shore,  and  the  States  of  North  Carolina  and  South 
Carolina,  and  that  portion  of  the  State  of  Georgia  immediately 
bordering  on  the  Atlantic,  including  the  city  of  Savannah,  — 
are  hereby  suspended  until  further  orders.  All  contracts  and 
agreements  made  under  or  by  virtue  of  any  trade-permits  or 
licenses  within  any  of  said  States  or  parts  of  Stages  during  the 
existence  of  this  order  will  be  deemed  void,  and  the  subject  of 
such  contracts  or  agreements  will  be  seized  by  the  military 
authorities  for  the  benefit  of  Government,  whether  the  same 
is  at  the  time  of  such  contracts  or  agreements  within  their  reach, 
or  at  any  time  thereafter  comes  within  their  reach,  either  by 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  381 

the  operations  of  war  or  the  acts  of  the  contracting  parties  or 
their  agents.  The  delivery  of  all  goods  contracted  for  and  not 
delivered  before  the  publication  of  this  order,  is  prohibited. 

2.  Supplies  of  all  kinds  are  prohibited  from  passing  into 
any  States  or  parts  of  States,  except  such  as  are  absolutely  nec 
essary  for  the  wants  of  those  living  within  the  lines  of  actual 
military  occupation ;  and  under  no  circumstances  will  military 
commanders  allow  them  to  pass  beyond  the  lines  they  actually 
hold. 

By  command  of  Lieutenant-General  Grant, 
(Signed)  T.  S.  BOWERS, 

Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

This  suspension  of  all  permission  to  trade  in  the  enemy's 
country  where  there  was  the  least  possibility  of  supplying 
him  with  the  sinews  of  war,  not  only  covered  the  ground 
of  the  report  of  our  commission,  but  used  in  some  cases  its 
very  language.  It  was  such  an  order  as  might  have  been 
looked  for  from  any  honest  commanding  officer,  whether 
lie  were  the  commander  of  the  District  of  Eastern  Vir 
ginia,  of  the  Department  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina, 
or  of  all  the  armies  in  the  field;  and  it  fully  sustained 
my  hostility  to  those  rascals  who  bragged  that  they  bad 
the  President's  ear,  and  would  get  out  cotton  yet,  in  spite 
of  me. 

To  be  quite  sure  that  those  who  had  negotiated  for  the 
delivery  of  supplies  to  Lee's  army  at  Murfrees  Depot  (a 
noted  station  for  the  trade  on  the  Seaboard  and  Eoanoke 
Kailway,  between  the  Meherrin  and  Nottoway  rivers),  and 
to  obtain  in  return  cotton  marked  "  C.  S.  A."  awaiting  their 
arrival,  should  be  disappointed,  I  sent  an  expedition  to 
destroy  this  cotton.  Colonel  George  W.  Lewis,  of  the  Third 
New  York  Cavalry,  with  bis  command,  readied  the  Black- 
water  to  find  bis  passage  opposed.  At  length,  however,  he 
overcame  the  enemy,  gained  the  de*p6t,  fired  and  destroyed 


382  A  WAR  DIARY. 

fifty  bales  of  cotton  and  all  the  warehouses,  and  returned 
with  the  loss  of  but  three  men.  This  successful  raid  of 
the  10th  of  March  was  followed  by  another  a  few  days 
later,  also  under  Colonel  Lewis,  in  which  he  destroyed  the 
enemy's  ferry  across  the  Black  water  at  South  Quay,  and 
found  it  perfectly  easy  to  make  a  dash  on  the  bridge 
across  the  Nottoway.  This  raid  on  Murfrees  Depot  was 
appalling  to  the  enemy.  A  Mrs.  Gore,  who  left  Eichmond 
on  the  eighth,  reached  Weldon  via  the  Danville  and  Ea- 
leigh  Eailway,  remained  there  during  the  night  of  the 
tenth,  and  came  into  my  lines  on  the  fourteenth,  reported 
that  Weldon  was  in  a  great  state  of  excitement;  that 
Union  troops  were  at  Murfrees  Depot,  and  it  was  feared 
that  they  would  soon  appear  at  Weldon,  where,  at  that 
very  hour,  there  were  eight  hundred  Union  prisoners  on 
their  way  to  Wilmington  to  be  exchanged.  At  Eichmond 
there  was,  she  said,  a  belief  that  the  city  must  soon  be 
evacuated ;  provisions  were  becoming  very  scarce,  and 
bacon  could  not  be  purchased  at  any  price. 

The  purposes  for  which  I  was  placed  in  command  of 
this  district  having  been  accomplished,  General  Ord,  in 
conformity  with  many  previous  and  urgent  notifications, 
informed  me  on  the  18th  of  March  that  I  was  to  be  trans 
ferred  to  the  Army  of  the  James,  either  to  a  division  or  to 
the  command  of  the  front  at  Bermuda  Hundred.  On  the 
nineteenth  I  was  ready  to  go, —  was  indeed  awaiting  impa 
tiently  the  summons,  —  when  a  messenger  announced  that 
the  Secretary  of  War  had  arrived  at  Norfolk,  and  was 
somewhere  in  that  city.  After  an  exhaustive  search  I 
found  him  with  a  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  an  old 
and  venerable  church  in  the  city,  —  I  think  it  was  St. 
Paul's.  The  Secretary  had  but  just  arrived  from  the  front, 
where  I  had  met  him.  It  was  at  the  last  grand  review  by 
General  Grant  of  the  Twenty-fourth  (white)  and  Twenty- 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  383 

fifth  (colored)  Divisions  of  the  Army  of  the  James,  before 
the  final  movement  which  ushered  in  the  beginning  of  the 
end,  —  an  occasion  on  which  I  had  ridden  with  the  General 
during  the  review  and  found  him  very  hopeful  and  com 
municative,  he  having  just  heard  from  Sheridan,  who  was 
smashing  up  things  generally,  having  destroyed  all  the 
railroads  from  Lynchburg  to  Richmond,  as  well  as  all  the 
bridges  and  canals,  and  was  then  making  his  way  to  White 
House,  where  he  would  arrive,  Grant  thought,  in  spite  of 
all  the  efforts  made  by  two  divisions  of  the  enemy  to 
intercept  him.  The  General  had  also  received  a  letter 
from  Sherman,  who  was  at  Fayetteville,  and  who  reported 
that  Johnston's  army  was  breaking  up.  The  Secretary 
being  fresh  from  such  an  occasion,  and  having  such  cheer 
ing  news,  was  in  the  best  of  spirits,  though  fatigued  and 
careworn,  and  received  me  very  kindly.  We  sat  together 
in  conversation  for  a  few  minutes,  when  Mr.  Stanton 
introduced  the  subject  of  my  command.  I  said  I  was 
expecting  at  any  moment  an  order  relieving  me  from  the 
command  of  that  district,  and  directing  me  to  go  to  the 
front.  "  No,"  he  replied,  "  you  are  not  to  be  relieved.  I 
fixed  that  matter  with  Generals  Grant  and  Ord  last  night. 
You  are  doing  too  much  good  here,  and  we  cannot  afford 
to  lose  you ;  you  are  doing  better  work  here  than  if  you 
were  commanding  a  corps  or  a  division  in  the  field,  for  you 
are  stopping  supplies  from  going  to  the  enemy,  and  Hart- 
suff  [who  was  to  take  my  place]  would  have  matters  all 
mixed  up  in  a  short  time."  I  was  disappointed  and  vexed ; 
but  there  was  no  help  for  it.  Though  Grant  and  Ord  had 
proposed,  the  Secretary  had  disposed ;  and  when  Mr.  Stan- 
ton  had  once  made  up  his  mind,  one  who  would  think  to 
move  him  could  not  know  him.  I  had  never  seen  the  Sec 
retary  in  such  a  kindly  mood,  or  when  he  manifested  so 
much  interest  in  others  as  he  expressed  for  me  and  mine. 


384  A  WAR  DIARY. 

assuring  me  that  I  should  be  relieved  and  sent  to  the  field 
as  soon  as  the  dangers  which  I  was  trying  to  ward  off 
should  have  passed. 

Hard  upon  this  visit  came  the  official  promulgation  of 
the  Secretary's  order,  from  General  Ord,  "  by  telegraph 
from  Headquarters,  Army  of  the  Potomac,"  dated  March 
18,1865:  — 

"  The  Secretary  of  War,  when  informed  of  the  order  about  to 
issue,  owing  to  matters  still  pending,  prefers  that  you  continue 
in  command  of  the  District  of  Eastern  Virginia.  You  will 
therefore  not  be  relieved  by  General  Hartsutf." 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  385 


CHAPTER  XII. 

DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA   (continued?). 

TOWARDS  the  end  events  became  as  confused  as 
pictures  in  a  kaleidoscope.  Hard  upon  the  heels 
of  an  impromptu  dance  at  Fortress  Monroe,  at  which 
several  officers  of  the  English  frigate  "  Galatea "  were 
present,  Stephens,  Vice-President  of  the  so-called  Con 
federacy,  with  others,  arrived  at  City  Point  to  treat  of 
peace  with  Mr.  Seward  and  President  Lincoln.  The  con 
ference  took  place  on  the  "  Indian  Queen."  So  suddenly 
had  the  President  come,  and  so  quickly  had  he  gone,  that 
few  knew  of  it,  and  none  knew  of  the  significance  of  the 
visit.  But  that  its  purpose  was  to  gain  something  from 
the  inevitable  ruin  before  the  final  crash,  we  felt  assured 
from  the  testimony  of  the  numerous  deserters  and  refu 
gees  who  swarmed  into  our  lines,  bringing  one  and  all 
the  same  story  of  falling  fortunes  and  hopeless  prospects 
of  the  Rebel  Government.  Of  twenty-five  who  surren 
dered  to  me  in  a  single  batch,  all  were  dispirited  and 
dejected. 

"  You  won't  believe  us,  sir,"  they  said,  "  when  we  tell 
you  of  the  hopelessness  of  our  troops.  We  are  whipped, 
sir,  that 's  all." 

"  Well,  where  do  you  wish  to  go  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Home,"  they  replied. 

"  But  you  can't,"  I  said. 

"  We  have  General  Grant's  order,"  they  pleaded. 

"  Let  me  see  it." 

25 


386  A  WAR  DIARY. 

A  soiled  and  torn  paper,  bearing  General  Grant's  prom 
ise  that  all  deserters  from  the  Eebel  army  should  be  per 
mitted  to  go  to  their  homes  —  which,  they  said,  had  been 
given  to  them  by  our  pickets  —  was  handed  to  me. 

"  How  did  so  many  of  you  escape  at  once  ? "  I  asked. 

"  We  bought  furloughs,"  was  the  laconic  reply. 

"  Bought  furloughs  !     Of  whom  ?  "  I  said. 

"  Oh,  you  can  buy  them  for  fifty  dollars  apiece  of  a  fel 
low  who  gets  them  forged  for  you." 

Another  turn  of  the  kaleidoscope,  and  a  gallows  appears, 
which  was  erected  for  the  execution  of  an  officer  of  our 
own  army  who  had  caused  a  sutler,  with  whom  he  had  had 
an  affray,  to  be  shot  by  his  men.  Death  by  hanging  was 
the  sentence  which  I  was  ordered  to  see  executed.  Could 
I  save  him  ?  The  order  was  peremptory  ;  it  was  the  sen 
tence  of  a  court-martial,  confirmed  by  the  commander  of 
the  department.  But  were  there  no  mitigating  circum 
stances  ?  Inquiries  were  set  on  foot,  and  a  slight  thread  of 
hope  appeared,  with  which  I  procured  a  postponement  of 
his  sentence  for  two  weeks.  The  wife  of  the  condemned 
man,  in  ignorance  of  the  fate  of  her  husband,  had  written 
to  announce  to  him  the  birth  of  his  first-born,  and  to  ask 
him  to  name  it,  —  and  this,  with  his  death-warrant  ring 
ing  in  his  ears !  In  two  weeks  I  had  made  out  a  case ; 
the  order  was  reconsidered,  and  the  officer  finally  saved  by 
the  President's  reprieve  and  pardon.  I  do  not  know  the 
officer's  name,  and  I  never  saw  him ;  nor  do  I  believe  he 
ever  knew  that  my  unmilitary  interference  saved  him 
from  an  ignominious  death. 

And  then  came  another  interference;  and  this  time  it 
was  with  the  Tax  Commissioners,  whose  sales  of  confis 
cated  property  for  non-payment  of  taxes  I  had  arrested 
sometime  before,  under  the  plea  of  reservations  for  mili 
tary  uses.  These  honest  and  high-minded  gentlemen, 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  387 

being  anxious  to  get  as  much  property  as  possible  out  of 
the  hands  of  its  original  owners,  seemed  only  desirous 
of  cutting  off  by  sale  the  possibility  of  redemption ;  for, 
once  sold,  the  right  was  permanently  lost.  "  Much  has 
been  lost  to  the  Government/'  they  complained  to  me,  "  by 
your  order ;  for  since  your  interference  many  owners  have 
redeemed  their  estates  by  paying  their  taxes."  I  replied 
that  this  was  all  the  Government  wanted ;  of  which  I  was 
soon  able  to  convince  these  patriotic  (!)  commissioners  by 
showing  them  telegrams  from  the  President,  and  from  the 
Secretaries  of  the  Treasury  and  of  War,  directing  that  all 
tax  sales  should  be  stopped  until  further  orders. 

While  these  half-gorged  harpies  went  away,  sharp  of 
scent,  to  pounce  down  on  other  garbage,  I  turned  my 
attention  to  my  own  'civil  fund,  with  which  I  supported 
orphans  and  almshotrses,  lighted  streets,  established  schools, 
maintained  fire-engines,  and  so  forth.  This  fund,  accruing 
from  taxes,  licenses,  polls,  fees,  permits,  and  small  fines 
through  the  provost-marshal's  court,  was  regularly  turned 
over  to  a  responsible  financial  agent,  whose  account  of 
receipts  and  disbursements  was  always  open  to  the  exami 
nation  of  the  district  and  department  commander.  Then, 
too,  there  were  the  rents  paid  by  the  Government  for  build 
ings  for  public  uses,  which  in  the  hurried  and  partial  deci 
sions  of  the  hour  had  been  grossly  unjust,  sometimes  to  the 
owner,  and  sometimes  to  the  Government.  This  question 
of  rents  had  been  deferred  until  claimants  could  be  heard 
at  the  close  of  the  war,  when  it  was  thought  greater  justice 
might  be  done. 

From  the  6th  to  the  26th  of  March  I  had  received, 
through  deserters  and  refugees,  most  satisfactory  evidence 
in  justification  of  the  course  I  had  pursued  in  stopping  the 
infamous  traffic  which  had  been  allowed  in  the  District  of 
Eastern  Virginia.  Through  Weldon  in  North  Carolina,  —  a 


388  A  WAR  DIARY. 

point  eighty  miles  from  Norfolk  on  the  Seaboard  and  Eoa- 
noke  Kailroad,  where  that  and  other  railways  from  the 
south  and  west  unite  with  the  Petersburg  and  Eoanoke 
and  Eichmond  and  Petersburg  roads,  —  all  the  forage  and 
supplies  had  passed  for  Lee's  army.  At  this  gateway  from 
Norfolk,  from  the  seaboard,  and  from  such  interior  roads 
as  the  Ealeigh  and  Gaston,  the  Weldon  and  Wilmington, 
Lee's  army  had  been  largely  supplied  with  food  and  muni 
tions  of  war.  From  the  officer  charged  with  the  exami 
nation  of  refugees  and  deserters  a  daily  report,  embodying 
the  fullest  details  of  the  foul  traffic  which  had  been  carried 
on  with  the  enemy,  was  made  to  me.  Parties  who  left 
Murfrees  Depot  as  late  as  the  2d  of  March  reported  that 
large  lots  of  cotton  were  then  being  brought  to  that  place 
by  rail,  and  thence  carted  to  where  it  could  be  exchanged 
for  supplies ;  and  that  the  quantity  arriving  daily  at  this 
Depot  was  much  greater  than  it  was  before  the  capture  of 
Charleston  and  Wilmington.  On  the  9th  of  March,  refu 
gees  and  deserters  from  Eden  ton  on  the  Oho  wan  Eiver 
reported  that  there  was  a  regular  line  of  vessels  running 
from  that  place,  each  carrying  about  one  hundred  bales 
of  cotton ;  that  they  lay  there  generally  four  or  five  days 
for  a  load,  and  that  the  Confederate  Government  had  nine 
mule  teams  drawing  this  same  cotton  from  Murfrees  De 
pot;  that  cotton  was  also  sent  from  this  de'pot  to  South 
Mills,  where,  said  the  informants,  "  it  is  supposed  to  be 
within  your  lines."  But  the  most  convincing  testimony 
was  given  by  one  William  Whitehead,  who  came  into  my 
lines  on  the  eighteenth  as  a  deserter  from  the  Twenty- 
fourth  Virginia  Cavalry.  Whitehead  had  been  detached 
from  his  regiment  since  October,  and  placed  on  duty  in 
the  quartermaster's  department  at  Weldon.  This  position 
afforded  an  admirable  opportunity  for  observing  the  amount 
of  supplies  passing  through  Weldon,  the  sources  whence 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  389 

they  came,  and  their  final  destination.  All  of  the  sugar 
and  coffee  which  had  of  late  been  issued  to  General  Lee's 
army  had  been  carried  through  that  town,  and  most  of  it 
came  from  Murfrees  Depot.  At  the  time  Whitehead  left, 
about  four  bales  of  cotton  were  stored  there. 

Cotton  seized  by  the  Confederate  Government  was  turned 
over  to  the  commissary  of  subsistence,  who  appointed  agents 
to  carry  it  into  the  Union  lines  and  dispose  of  it.  These 
agents  were  obliged  to  give  security  to  the  amount  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  and  were  thereupon  allowed  to  take  that 
amount  of  cotton  out  of  the  Confederacy  and  exchange  it 
for  coffee,  sugar,  and  bacon.  Usually  from  six  to  twelve 
thousand  pounds  of  bacon  passed  daily  through  Weldon  in 
exchange  for  cotton;  but  the  cotton  trade  had  become 
very  dull  after  the  late  restrictions.  On  the  twenty-sixth, 
however,  on  the  testimony  of  one  Thomas  Montague,  a 
ship  carpenter,  who  left  Halifax,  on  the  Koanoke  Eiver, 
eight  miles  from  Weldon,  on  the  twentieth  and  came  into 
my  lines  on  the  twenty-sixth,  I  had  reason  to  believe  that 
cotton  was  still  flowing  towards  Murfrees  Depot,  to  the 
left  bank  of  the  Chowan,  and  to  the  points  formerly  occu 
pied  by  Shepley's  trade-stores.  He  said  that  he  crossed 
the  Chowan  at  Manny's  Ferry,  one  mile  below  Reddicks- 
ville,  and  that  there  were  eight  bales  of  cotton  on  the 
boat  on  which  he  crossed  the  river,  which  cotton  came 
from  Murfrees  Depot;  and,  further,  that  he  saw  quite  a 
number  of  bales  in  the  woods  about  Reddick's.  John 
Gillot,  a  deserter  from  the  Sixty-first  Virginia  Infantry, 
came  from  Reddicksville  on  the  twenty-fourth,  where  he 
saw  about  one  hundred  bales  of  cotton.  He  said  that 
Reddicksville  was  a  sort  of  rendezvous  for  men  who  were 
trading  between  the  two  armies;  that  as  soon  as  cotton 
was  landed  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Chowan  River  it 
was  considered  to  be  within  Federal  lines ;  and  that  Man- 


390  A  WAR  DIARY. 

ny's  Ferry  was  a  point  where  quantities  of  cotton  were 
sent  over. 

On  the  thirty-first  several  mechanics  and  others  who 
had  been  in  the  service  of  the  Seaboard  Eailway  came  in 
to  my  lines.  They  stated  that  the  average  amount  of  cot 
ton  carried  over  that  road  was  fifty  bales  a  day,  and  that 
the  amount  carried  to  Murfrees  Depot  depended  upon  the 
amount  of  supplies  which  was  expected  to  be  received 
for  cotton.  Some  days  three  car-loads  were  sent  down, 
and  every  day  at  least  one  car-load  went,  carrying  about 
thirty  bales.  The  average  amount  of  bacon  carried  over 
this  road  daily  was  about  ten  thousand  pounds.  Sugar, 
coffee,  molasses,  codfish,  candles,  etc.,  were  also  sent  over 
this  road. 

A  single  glance  at  the  map  will  show,  stronger  than  any 
argument,  the  degree  of  that  human  "  cussedness  "  which 
could  have  allowed  unlimited  supplies  of  contraband  of 
war  to  pass  into  that  region  bounded  by  the  Albemarle 
Sound,  the  Chowan  Eiver,  and  the  Seaboard  Eailway,  where 
free  and  uninterrupted  communication,  for  cotton  to  come 
out  and  supplies  to  go  in,  was  allowed  with  Weldon, 
Petersburg,  and  Eichmond.  A  single  reflection  will  show 
that  a  traffic  in  which  the  profits  were  so  enormous  would 
not  have  been  allowed  and  encouraged,  if  that  region  had 
not  been  governed  after  the  manner  of  the  Eoman  gover 
nors  under  Csesar,  who  plundered  subject  States,  sold  jus 
tice,  pillaged  temples,  and  stole  all  they  could  lay  their 
hands  on,  in  the  belief  that  they  were  safe  from  punish 
ment  if  they  returned  to  Eome  and  admitted  others  to  a 
share  in  their  spoils. 

By  the  20th  of  March,  Sheridan  had  arrived  in  safety 
at  White  House  on  the  Pamunkey,  and  there,  by  Grant's 
order,  I  sent  a  boat  to  him.  Everything  confirmed  his 
conviction  that  the  end  was  nigh.  Deserters,  refugees, 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  391 

and  our  own  men  escaping  from  the  enemy  swelled  the 
list  of  those  who  told  of  a  Eebel  downfall.  This  was  con 
firmed  by  the  condition  of  Hood's  army,  which  had  arrived 
a  month  before  at  Charlotte  with  only  twenty  thousand 
men  and  no  artillery ;  moreover,  Bragg  and  his  army  were 
falling  back  from  Goldsborough  and  Ealeigh,  while  Sher 
man  and  Schofield,  uniting,  interposed  between  Lee  and 
reinforcements.  There  was  also  disaffection  within  the 
enemy's  lines.  Kebel  soldiers  refused  to  fight  if  negroes 
were  to  be  armed,  while  Eebel  leaders  acknowledged  that 
there  was  no  hope  for  them  if  negroes  were  not  armed  and 
forced  into  the  ranks.  Jefferson  Davis  was  treated  with 
contempt ;  he  had  ceased  to  be  an  oracle,  and  was  violently 
finding  fault  with  every  one. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  General  Sherman  passed  through 
my  district  to  the  front  to  see  Grant.  He  arrived  there  in 
time  to  meet  the  President,  who  had  himself  arrived  in 
season  to  be  part  witness  of  a  lively  fight  which  had  been 
going  on  for  a  few  days.  It  was  begun  by  the  enemy,  who 
came  forward  in  front  of  Petersburg  as  if  to  surrender,  and 
then  made  a  rush  by  which  they  gained  an  entrance  to  one 
of  our  forts  and  proceeded  to  drive  out  our  men.  The 
fight  was  sharp  and  decisive;  the  Rebels  captured  eight 
hundred  of  our  men,  besides  killing  a  few,  while  we  of 
theirs  took  twenty-eight  hundred,  killing  many.  These 
little  affairs  were  very  entertaining  to  the  Washington 
officials,  as  a  relief  to  the  ocean  of  dreariness  in  which 
society  in  that  city  floated,  and  those  who  were  fortunate 
enough  to  be  present  on  such  occasions  never  tired  of 
describing  the  scene. 

Mr.  Seward  followed  the  President.  He  came  from  the 
front  with  the  Spanish  and  English  ministers,  his  own 
daughter,  and  a  large  retinue  of  ladies.  I  found  them 
seated  in  the  parlor  at  my  headquarters;  introduced  my 


392  A  WAR  DIARY. 

wife  and  several  lady  visitors  from  Boston,  and  then  with 
our  distinguished  guests,  including  Admiral  Farragut,  we 
had  an  interesting  talk.  Mr.  Seward,  ever  on  the  watch 
for  a  diplomatic  result,  stood  ready,  I  fancied,  to  extin 
guish  my  conversation  the  moment  it  glanced  in  any  direc 
tion  where  he  thought  silence  would  be  more  profitable. 
The  premier  had  enjoyed  the  excitement  of  a  heavy  fight 
on  the  left,  where  an  attempt  had  been  made  to  break  up 
the  South-side  Railway ;  he  believed  that  this  would  prove 
to  be  the  final  struggle  of  the  war,  and  that  it  would  end 
in  our  success.  So  did  the  President,  who  still  remained 
at  the  front,  in  readiness  to  make  peace  at  any  moment 
with  the  enemy,  whenever  he  should  show  pacific  inten 
tions.  Our  triumph  did  indeed  seem  assured  by  every 
word  that  came  to  us.  On  the  2d  of  April  it  was  tele 
graphed  from  Fortress  Monroe  that  Sheridan  had  cap 
tured  three  brigades  of  the  enemy  and  several  batteries, 
had  possession  of  the  South-side  Railway,  and  was  driving 
everything  before  him ;  and  hardly  had  this  report  been 
received,  when  we  learned  that  Rebel  rams  yet  on  the 
stocks  had  been  blown  up,  in  order  to  choke  the  channel 
of  the  James  River. 

I  cannot  describe  my  feelings  when  these  events  were 
followed,  on  the  morning  of  the  third,  by  an  announcement 
from  Fortress  Monroe  that  General  Weitzel  entered  the 
city  of  Richmond  at  fifteen  minutes  after  eight  that  morn 
ing  !  It  was  but  two  hours  to  midday.  I  was  at  my 
office ;  and  there  the  message  was  received,  —  "  authentic 
beyond  doubt,"  it  said.  I  put  the  telegram  in  my  pocket 
and  rushed  on  to  the  street.  An  officer  spoke  to  me,  and 
I  replied,  "  We  have  Richmond  ! "  In  a  moment  I  was 
with  Admiral  Farragut.  He  could  hardly  contain  him 
self  at  the  news.  In  his  hand  he  held  a  copy  of  my  des 
patch.  Could  this  news  be  true  ?  —  the  Admiral  doubted. 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  393 

But  his  wife  did  not ;  she  was  jubilant ;  she  had  never  a 
misgiving.  We  consulted  a  few  moments  upon  the  condi 
tion  of  affairs,  upon  the  movement  of  Grant's  left  to  cut 
off  Lee's  railway  communications  between  Eichmond  and 
the  Southwest,  and  then  I  returned  to  my  office.  A  boat 
was  ordered  to  be  in  readiness  to  convey  the  Admiral  and 
myself  to  Richmond  that  night.  Everything  that  could  be 
turned  out,  I  commanded  to  parade  the  streets  of  Norfolk, 
with  music,  flags,  and  cheers.  The  provost-marshal  organ- 
nized  civil  processions.  Bands  in  wagons  played  to  the 
echo  in  every  street ;  bells  were  rung  and  cannon  fired  till 
"  further  orders."  Till  nightfall  the  carnival  continued. 
The  first  gun  boomed  out  on  the  same  spot  where,  it  was 
said,  a  householder  at  his  own  expense  had  fired  a  salute 
when  Sumter  fell  in  1861.  The  city  was  wild  with  ex 
citement.  Crowds,  composed  largely  of  negroes,  surged 
through  the  streets  till  midnight. 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  a  reception  had  been 
prepared  for  Admiral  Farragut.  It  was  tendered  to  him 
by  the  "  citizens  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth  and  vicinity," 
at  Mechanics'  Hall,  at  half-past  seven.  The  Admiral's 
speech  was  received  with  enthusiastic  cheers.  It  was  fol 
lowed  by  some  fancy  dancing,  which  was  in  rather  bad 
taste ;  but  the  dancers  were  wreathed  in  garments  of  red, 
white,'  and  blue,  which  made  the  performance  a  patriotic 
one.  After  the  reception,  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  we 
were  on  the  boat  steaming  up  the  James.  Of  those  who 
accompanied  me  there  were,  of  officers,  Admiral  Farra 
gut,  my  staff,  Colonel  Martindale,  and  Majors  Stackpole 
and  Binney ;  of  ladies  there  were  Mrs.  Gordon  and  two 
ladies  from  Boston;  and  several  citizens,  who,  without 
license  or  invitation,  stole  on  board,  and  lay  concealed 
until  we  were  under  way.  At  daylight,  on  the  4th  of 
April,  we  were  at  City  Point.  There  were  many  boats  at 


394  A  WAR  DIARY. 

this  place  filled  with  prisoners ;  and  there  also  was  the 
President's  boat,  the  "  Eiver  Queen."  Nothing  was  to  be 
learned  here,  and  on  we  went  to  Dutch  Gap,  where  we 
were  told  by  some  naval  officers  that  the  navy  under 
Admiral  Porter  had  not  yet  gone  up  to  Eichmond,  but 
were  engaged  in  dredging  for  torpedoes,  which  were  said, 
or  thought,  to  be  very  abundant,  and  that  the  river  was 
full  of  obstructions.  One  mile  below  us  was  Aiken's  Land 
ing  ;  it  was  the  best  starting-point  for  an  overland  jour 
ney  to  Eichmond,  for  which  I  had  brought  horses  and 
saddles.  Eeturning  there,  we  were  soon  on  shore,  and 
mounted  for  our  ride  of  fifteen  miles. 

A  sailor  on  horseback  is  not  the  man  he  is  on  his  own 
quarter-deck.  Consequently,  we  had  a  scene  at  the  out 
set.  The  Admiral  had  great  difficulty  in  mounting;  his 
short  legs  would  not  go  over  a  rolled  overcoat  which  was 
strapped  to  the  "  gunwale  "  of  his  saddle ;  and  when  we  got 
off  he  was  much  troubled  with  his  trousers  flying  up  to 
his  knees  in  an  unruly  manner.  We  stopped,  therefore, 
rigged  straps,  got  him  taut  and  ship-shape,  and  on  we 
went  in  rear  of  our  lines  up  to  General  Ord's  old  headquar 
ters,  by  Butler's  "  bull  pen,"  up  to  Fort  Harrison,  along  the 
lines  of  our  deserted  camps  and  intrenchments,  out  through 
an  opening  in  our  most  advanced  breastwork,  across  the 
ditch,  over  the  abatis  (the  two  lines  of  them,  by  the  way, 
were  not  very  strong),  and  into  the  open  fields  which  lay 
between  the  hostile  lines  that  separated  the  armies  besieg 
ing  and  defending  the  Eebel  capital.  From  near  Fort 
Harrison,  where  we  left  our  advanced  lines,  it  was  about 
one-half  or  two-thirds  of  a  mile  to  the  first  defences  of  the 
enemy.  Over  the  intermediate  space,  which  was  filled  with 
rifle-pits  and  stripped  of  trees  and  everything  that  could 
cover  an  enemy,  we  approached  the  Eebel  defences.  They 
were  superior  in  strength  to  ours.  Between  two  lines  of 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  395 

abatis  covering  the  front,  chevaux-de-frise,  perfectly  formed 
and  chained  together,  rendered  a  successful  assault  almost 
an  impossibility  until  these  obstacles  were  cleared  away. 
These  overcome,  ditches  with  wire  entanglements  and  tor 
pedoes  before  the  parapets  presented  themselves  as  devil 
ish  designs  to  impede  an  approach.  Eebel  huts  and  tents 
were  still  standing ;  but  there  was  not  a  solitary  vestige 
of  life  within  them.  From  here  we  pushed  on  impatiently 
towards  Kichmond,  eagerly  gazing  for  its  spires,  which 
were  wrapped  in  the  smoke  rising  from  the  burning  city. 
Passing  many  detached  works,  —  forts,  defences,  outer  and 
inner  lines,  —  we  at  last  reached  the  entrance  to  Eichmond. 
It  was  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  We  made  our 
way  through  dirty  and  tortuous  streets,  by  the  ashes  of 
countless  houses  and  burning  timbers,  by  household  goods 
and  furniture,  amid  multitudes  of  men  and  women  gazing 
hopelessly  at  the  wreck  and  ruin,  down  the  main  avenue 
and  into  the  square  where  stood  a  monumental  group  of 
Washington  and  Patrick  Henry  and  Clay. 

Here  we  found  General  Weitzel.  He  had  established 
his  headquarters  at  the  house  and  home  of  Jefferson 
Davis.  The  lower  part  of  the  house  was  roomy  and  some 
what  imposing,  but  the  upper  part  was  poor  and  mean 
in  the  extreme.  When  Weitzel  entered  he  was  met  by 
Davis's  servants  with  the  announcement  that  their  master 
had  told  them  that  the  Union  commander  would  proba 
bly  occupy  the  house,  and  that  they  must  treat  him  well. 
The  Rebel  President's  wines  had  been  preserved,  and  in 
his  parlor  we  drank  to  the  health  of  the  fugitive  ruler  of 
the  Confederacy.  As  a  memento  I  took  away  a  group  of 
bronze  and  wood  representing  an  eagle  being  strangled  by 
a  crocodile.  From  the  eagle's  beak  hung  a  chain.  It  was 
thus,  I  suppose,  that  the  United  States  were  to  be  throttled 
in  an  attempt  to  enslave  the  South.  We  were  joined  in 


396  A  WAR  DIARY. 

the  parlor  by  the  ladies.  They  were  the  first  to  enter 
Richmond  after  its  capture ;  and  this  they  owed  to  Colonel 
Martindale,  who,  pressing  an  ambulance  into  service,  made 
his  way  into  the  Eebel  city,  to  the  entire  and  lasting  grati 
fication  of  these  irrepressible  women. 

A  cunning  device  now  entered  the  Admiral's  head. 
What  a  fine  thing  it  would  be  to  run  the  river  and  triumph 
over  Admiral  Porter;  to  hail  him  on  his  upward  course 
with  the  President,  with  a  report  that  the  way  was  clear, 
and  that  he,  Farragut,  though  present  as  a  tourist  only, 
had  cut  in  and  investigated,  while  the  naval  commander 
to  whom  the  work  belonged  was  sounding  and  feeling  his 
way  cautiously  up  the  James.  No  sooner  was  this  plan 
conceived,  than  Farragut  turned  to  execute  it.  Since  the 
evacuation  no  boat  had  passed  down  from  Eichmond,  and 
none  from  below  had  arrived  there.  The  only  one  in 
Weitzel's  possession  was  the  Rebel  flag-of-truce  boat,  which 
was  at  its  wharf  with  its  captain,  mate,  and  engineer 
aboard.  The  Admiral  could  have  that  boat  and  its  pilot 
(if  Weitzel  could  find  him),  who  knew  the  river  well,  and 
the  position  of  the  torpedoes  in  its  channel.  With 
unbounded  confidence  in  the  Admiral's  seamanship  and 
good  luck,  I  put  myself  at  his  disposal.  With  a  skilful 
pilot  who  knew  the  way,  there  were  good  chances  that  we 
might  escape  the  censure  which  would  inevitably  follow 
our  flight  from  this  world  while  engaged  in  an  officious 
intermeddling  with  the  plans  and  duties  of  others.  So  we 
started  for  the  boat. 

On  our  way  we  came  to  Libby  Prison,  and  stopped  to 
enter  that  gloomy  hell.  It  was  occupied  by  Rebel  prison 
ers  under  a  Federal  guard.  On  the  lower  floor  piles  of 
cast-off  shoes  and  clothing,  miserable  reminders  of  our  own 
poor  fellows,  awoke  feelings  both  of  pity  and  of  rage.  We 
were  shown  a  hole  where  a  torpedo  was  planted  to  blow 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  397 

the  prison  and  its  inmates  to  atoms,  had  Dahlgren  in 
his  raid  succeeded  in  effecting  an  entrance  to  the  city.  On 
the  ground -floor  there  were  no  prisoners.  Our  officers  of 
the  guard,  with  more  humanity  than  theirs,  had  given  the 
Eebels  the  healthier  quarters  above.  As  I  gazed  upon  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  floating  gaily  over  Libby  Prison  in  Eich- 
mond,  I  felt  that  the  day  of  our  deliverance  was  indeed  at 
hand. 

Continuing  on  to  the  river,  we  came  to  the  Eebel 
steamer,  and  found  her  captain,  but  no  pilot  on  board. 
We  waited  until  our  patience  was  exhausted,  and  then 
consulted  the  Eebel  captain.  What  did  he  think  of  the 
dangers  of  this  proposed  trip,  we  asked.  He  said  he 
"  did  n't  like  to  try  it ;  "  was  afraid  of  the  torpedoes,  espe 
cially  as  he  did  not  know  where  they  were  planted.  On 
Sunday  night  (it  was  then  Tuesday)  he  had  made  his  last 
trip,  and  since  then  he  had  seen  a  whole  boat-load  of  tor 
pedoes  carried  down  to  be  placed  in  the  channel.  We  had 
by  this  time  lost  all  hope  of  seeing  our  promised  pilot ; 
and  nothing  was  left  us  but  to  go  without  him  or  abandon 
the  trip.  The  latter  was  not  to  be  thought  of ;  go  the  Ad 
miral  would,  and  at  once.  What  did  he  care  for  torpedoes  ? 
We  must  take  our  chances  ;  the  captain  knew  the  channel, 
and  this  was  sufficient.  I  acquiesced,  for  I  was  deter 
mined  to  stick  by  the  Admiral.  I  had  brought  him  into 
Eichmond,  by  land ;  and  what  now  could  be  more  appro 
priate  than  that  he  should  take  me  out  by  water  ?  Then, 
too,  there  was  the  fun  of  the  thing.  How  Porter  would 
enjoy  it !  —  if  we  got  through  ! 

The  Admiral's  arrangements  were  soon  made.  He  pro 
moted  himself  to  be  captain  of  the  boat,  assigned  me  to  duty 
on  his  staff,  put  the  ex-captain  at  the  wheel,  and  ordered 
the  engineer  to  go  ahead.  The  Admiral  and  his  staff  took 
post  on  the  hurricane  deck  near  the  bow,  with  weather 


398  A  WAR  DIARY. 

eyes  out  sharp  after  obstructions.  How  the  Admiral  felt 
I  cannot  say ;  but  I  saw  no  indications,  in  his  calm  and 
serene  expression,  that  he  looked  for  any  sudden  transla 
tion  into  the  higher  ether.  I  did ;  but  I  hope  he  did  not 
see  it.  The  shores  on  either  side  were  lined  with  wrecks. 
Huge  pieces  of  stone  and  rubbish  walled  up  the  narrow 
channel,  leaving  only  room  enough  for  the  flag-of-truce 
boat  to  make  its  way.  "  Not  one  hundred  monitors,"  said 
Admiral  Eadford  to  me  at  a  subsequent  period,  "  could 
have  opened  the  James  against  such  obstacles,  under  the 
fire  of  opposing  guns.  It  would  have  been  utterly  impos 
sible  for  our  fleet  to  have  passed  up  until  these  barriers 
were  removed;  and  they  could  not  have  been  removed 
until  the  shore  batteries  were  silenced.  Add  to  what  you 
saw,"  he  continued,  "  torpedoes  innumerable,  some  of  them 
immense  in  size  and  filled  with  two  thousand  pounds  of 
powder,  to  be  ignited  by  a  galvanic  wire  from  shore,  and 
you  can  see  how  safe  Eichmond  was  from  a  forced  passage 
of  the  river  by  any  fleet."  And  how  much  was  due  to 
Sheridan,  I  thought,  who  by  his  flank  movement  on  the 
southwestern  railways  rendered  all  this  costly  prepa 
ration  abortive  !  About  six  miles  below  Eichmond  our 
passage  was  stopped  by  a  bridge.  "While  we  were  at 
tempting  to  open  the  draw  a  naval  tug  steamed  into 
view,  with  a  gun  at  her  bow,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  flying 
from  her  stern,  and  a  petty  officer  in  command.  This 
was  the  advance  boat  of  the  fleet  under  Porter.  The 
sight  of  a  steamer  coming  down  the  river  flying  the  Eebel 
flag  (we  had  no  other,  and  took  the  steamer  as  we  found 
her,  colors  and  all)  surprised  our  jolly  tars,  who  hailed  us 
with  the  cry,  — 

"  What  boat  is  that  ? " 

"  Good  morning,  Mr. ,"  replied  the  Admiral. 

"  Admiral  Farragut !  is  that  you  ? " 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  399 

"  Yes,  sir,  it  is.  We  have  come  down  from  Kichmond 
to  meet  you." 

"  Well,  Admiral,  you  had  better  take  in  that  flag,  or  the 
next  boat  you  meet,  seeing  those  colors,  may  fire  into  you." 

An  hour  or  more  of  delay  at  the  bridge,  and  we  steamed 
on  until  a  launch  hove  in  sight,  with  quite  an  array  of 
officers  in  its  stern.  Among  them  I  recognized  Admiral 
Porter  and  Abraham  Lincoln.  Porter's  expression  was 
one  of  blank  amazement;  the  President's  was  sad,  but 
satisfied.  "  How  are  you  Porter  ?  "  and  "  Is  that  you, 
Farragut  ? "  with  "  How  is  Libby  ?  "  from  the  President, 
accompanied  by  an  audible  and  very  open  smile,  and  the 
reply  from  Farragut,  "  Very  full  of  Eebel  prisoners,"  were 
the  salutations  and  replies  which  passed  as  we  continued 
on  by  still  heavier  batteries,  whose  huge  guns  pointed  aim 
lessly  down  the  river,  —  on  by  more  wrecks  of  iron-clads 
and  gunboats,  forts  deserted,  houses  and  green  wheat-fields, 
powder-blackened  shores,  where  boats  had  been  blown 
up,  —  on  by  machinery  sticking  up  above  the  water-line, 
by  mailed  timbers,  sunken  boats,  and  all  the  wreck  and 
ruin  of  war,  —  on  by  twenty-five  miles  of  fortifications  to 
Aiken's  Landing,  which  we  reached  at  nightfall.  At  City 
Point  we  found  Mrs.  Grant,  with  whom  we  exchanged  con 
gratulations  upon  the  happy  event ;  then  steamed  home 
ward,  arriving  at  Norfolk  at  daylight  on  the  morning  of 
Wednesday,  April  5. 

A  despatch  from  General  Grant  to  his  wife,  that  she  had 
better  go  home,  as  he  intended  to  follow  up  Lee  till  there 
was  no  more  Lee  to  follow,  when  he  would  turn  his  at 
tention  to  Joe  Johnston,  was  an  expression  of  that  pur 
pose  which  was  manifested  when  Sheridan  overtook  the 
fleeing  army  at  Burkesville,  and  held  it  until  our  infantry 
came  up,  when  Lee,  again  breaking  away,  was  pursued 
and  captured  by  Grant.  In  the  mean  time,  Eichmond  was 


400  A  WAR  DIARY. 

being  made  accessible  from  all  quarters,  —  by  rail  from 
Acquia  Creek  and  from .  Suffolk,  and  by  boats  on  the 
James.  Trade  was  resumed,  treasures  of  the  soil  —  cotton 
and  tobacco  —  were  seized,  and  the  day  of  lasting  peace 
seemed  near. 

All  the  facts  of  Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox  Court 
House,  on  the  9th  of  April,  are  known  to  the  world.  It  is 
not  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  dwell  upon  the  public 
history  of  that  event.  I  am  dealing  here  with  private  his 
tory,  and  shall  conclude  these  pages  with  what  concerned 
me  in  the  final  winding-up  of  the  Great  Eebellion. 

Smarting  under  the  disappointment  of  the  hour,  queru 
lous  and  scolding  from  the  well-merited  punishment  in 
flicted  upon  him  by  Grant,  Butler  addressed  to  me  two 
letters,  the  occasion  of  which  was  certain  articles  in  the 
"  Old  Dominion,"  —  a  newspaper  published  by  its  owner 
within  my  district,  —  reflecting  upon  his  administration 
and  his  career.  It  was  useless  to  assure  General  Butler 
that  I  had  no  hand  in  the  matter,  and  that  I  knew  nothing 
of  the  articles  until  they  appeared  in  print ;  or  to  suggest 
that,  if  the  accusations  were  unfounded,  none  knew  better 
than  he  that  no  injury  could  befall  him  thereby.  He 
insisted  that  I  should  have  suppressed  them;  that  the 
bare  fact  of  their  publication  within  my  district  was  evi 
dence  that  my  relations  with  him  were  not  friendly, — 
nay,  that  I  actually  inspired  the  articles  ;  and  he  concluded 
the  correspondence  by  a  declaration  of  war,  in  the  quota 
tion,  "Time  at  last  sets  all  things  even."  With  many 
irons  in  the  fire,  Butler,  on  the  14th  of  April,  in  Wash 
ington,  sought  to  heat  some  of  them,  "and  set  things 
even;"  for  he,  like  many  other  politicians  such  as  he, 
seemed  to  think  that  the  word  friendship  signified  an  obli 
gation  to  indorse  every  act  and  to  support  every  measure, 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  401 

however  wrong,  which  it  might  please  him  to  practise  or 
to  countenance. 

To  return  again  to  active  service  as  military  governor 
of  Kichmond  and  its  vicinity  would  have  suited  very  well 
Butler's  peculiar  complaint ;  and  it  would,  moreover,  have 
made  good  his  oft-repeated  boast,  that  he  had  never  been 
relieved  from  duty  without  being  intrusted  with  a  higher 
command.  But  in  Ben's  path  to  this  object  of  his  ambition 
there  stood  a  lion,  and  Benjamin  did  not  like  lions.  Gov 
ernor  Pierpont,  whom  the  President  seemed  quite  inclined 
to  recognize  as  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  entertained  for 
our  Benjamin  a  contempt  which  was  surpassed  only  by  the 
degree  of  Benjamin's  hate  for  Pierpont.  The  President's 
method  of  bringing  the  rebellious  States  into  harmony  with 
the  loyal  North,  was  through  a  reconstruction  which  should 
be  based  upon  forgiveness  for  the  past.  Butler  therefore 
was  anxious  to  close  the  deadly  breach  between  himself 
and  the  Governor ;  to  forget  that  he  had  offered  a  number 
of  thousands  of  dollars  for  the  privilege  of  catching  Pier 
pont  within  the  Military  Department  of  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina;  to  become  oblivious  to  the  fact  that  he 
had  allowed  his  soldier  printers  to  print,  with  a  Govern 
ment  press  on  Government  paper,  and  his  soldier  binders 
to  bind,  a  pamphlet  inspired  by  himself,  scoring  Pierpont 
severely  on  personal  matters  ;  and,  in  short,  he  was  making 
overtures  of  peace,  and  pointing  to  the  blessings  which 
would  flow  to  each  from  a  fraternal  embrace.  Butler  as 
the  high  priest  of  a  dispensation  of  forgiveness  and  love  to 
his  Rebel  brethren,  and  especially  to  Pierpont,  would  have 
been  an  unlocked  for  event  in  the  President's  policy. 

But  Butler's  mission  was  not  altogether  for  personal  re 
dress  ;  he  wished  to  interfere  in  this  era  of  brotherly  love 
in  behalf  of  the  Lowell  knaves  and  the  Southern  rascals 
then  held  in  prison  in  Norfolk,  awaiting  trial  for  supplying 

26 


402  A  WAR  DIARY. 

the  enemy  with  contraband  of  war.  A  pardon  for  several 
of  these  men  convicted  of  this  detestable  crime  had  been 
promised  by  Butler's  brother-in-law,  upon  the  sole  condi 
tion  that  they  should  arrange  for  the  exchange  of  a  whole 
steamboat  load  of  contraband  of  war  for  cotton  at  the 
enemy's  outpost.  More  than  this,  the  pardon  had  actually 
been  granted  after  the  delivery  of  the  cargo  was  made, 
the  cotton  secured,  the  transaction  known,  and  Butler's 
authority  to  grant  pardons  had  been  stripped  from  him. 
I  was  for  a  moment  somewhat  startled  that  the  era 
of  good  feeling  could  have  produced  such  results  in  the 
Presidential  heart  as  to  induce  Mr.  Lincoln  to  desire 
to  know  from  me  by  telegraph  by  what  authority  there 
were  certain  persons  restrained  of  their  liberty  within  my 
district.  My  reply,  that  these  traders  in  contraband  of 
war  were  held  in  duress  substantially  by  Grant's  order, 
drew  the  controversy  into  a  different  channel,  and  I  heard 
no  more  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  interference,  and  should  doubtless 
have  heard  nothing  of  any  future  proceedings  concerning 
the  cargo  of  the  "  Philadelphia,"  had  not  Butler,  embold 
ened  by  his  success  with  the  President  and  the  Eepublican 
party,  in  which  he  became  a  shining  light,  endeavored  to 
overcome  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  an 
effort  to  obtain  redress  for  the  knaves  in  matters  con 
nected  with  the  seizure  by  our  navy  of  the  steamer  "  Phil 
adelphia  "  and  her  cargo  of  cotton  as  she  was  making  her 
way  from  a  Eebel  outpost  on  the  Nottaway  Eiver  into 
Albemaiie  Sound,  and  thence  to  a  market  in  New  York. 
In  this  court  at  last  the  entire  transaction  was  charac 
terized  as  it  deserved  to  be,  and  the  whole  subject  ex 
hibited  to  the  world  in  its  true  light. 

Of  all  the  woes  that  had  befallen  us,  the  worst  seemed 
to  have  been  reserved  for  the  hour  of  our  rejoicing.  Never 
before  in  this  rebellion  had  the  whole  category  of  human 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  403 

afflictions,  —  downfall,  prostration,  and  ruin,  —  seemed  to 
me  so  possible  as  when,  on  the  15th  of  April,  between  two 
and  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  I  received  from  Fortress 
Monroe  the  following  despatch :  — 

GENERAL,  —  Not  knowing  whether  the  sad  intelligence  we 
have  received  here  has  yet  reached  you,  I  have  thought  proper 
to  send  you  this  by  special  boat.  President  Lincoln  was  shot 
last  night  at  Ford's  Theatre,  and  died  at  7.30  this  A.  M.  Sec 
retary  Seward  was  stabbed,  may  recover ;  his  son  also  stabbed, 
will  probably  not  recover.  We  have  no  further  particulars 
here. 

Later  in  the  day,  a  telegram  confirmed  this  sad  news, 
and  added  that  Vice-President  Johnson  was  officiating. 
This  deed,  so  paralyzing  both  on  account  of  its  intrinsic 
atrocity  and  its  startling  effect  on  the  nation,  I  could  not 
at  first  grasp.  In  vain  I  tried  to  penetrate  that  region  of 
despair  where  men  brood  over  the  desperate  possibilities 
of  assassination.  Such  awful  crimes  we  thought  had 
passed  from  us  forever.  "We  could  not  credit  it,  that  any 
man  could  be  found  wicked  enough  or  foolish  enough 
to  believe  that  our  Government  could  be  shaken  by  the 
violent  death  of  its  President.  With  a  determination  to 
throw  off  the  dejection  which  oppressed  me,  I  wrote  and 
published  to  my  command  on  the  next  day  the  following 
order : — 

HEADQUARTERS,  DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA, 
NORFOLK,  VA.,  April  16,  1865. 

(General  Order  No.  25.) 

The  General  commanding  announces  with  sorrow  the  sudden 
death  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  All  the  intelligence  yet  received  is 
contained  in  the  following  telegram,  dated  the  15th  inst. :  — 

"President  Lincoln  was  shot  through  the  head  at  10.30  last 
night,  while  in  his  private  box  at  Ford's  Theatre,  Washington, 
and  died  at  7.22  this  morning.  Secretary  Se ward's  house  was 


404  A  WAR  DIARY. 

visited  by  another  assassin  at  about  the  same  hour  (10.30  p.  M. 
14th),  and  the  Secretary  stabbed  in  several  places;  may  possibly 
recover.  His  son  Frederick  was  also  stabbed,  and  will  probably 
die  of  the  wounds.  Vice-President  Johnson  is  now  officiating." 

In  the  death  of  Abraham  Lincoln  the  country  has  lost  one  of 
its  best  citizens  and  one  of  its  most  conscientious  rulers.  Our 
President  was  a  just  and  a  good  man.  However  deeply  we 
may  mourn  his  loss,  let  us  be  thankful  to  God  that  our  country 
stands  unshaken ;  and  let  those  who  believe  our  foundations  are 
based  upon  anything  but  the  firm  and  unshaken  rock  of  the 
will  of  the  people,  lay  to  heart  the  truth  of  history,  that  neither 
King  nor  Parliament  can  ever  resist  the  omnipotence  of  popular 
ideas. 

As  each  day  seemed  to  add  new  horrors  to  the  horrid 
tragedy,  so  each  day  revealed  to  us  that  the  plot  was  more 
extensive  in  its  scope  than  we  had  dreamed  of.  Booth  the 
assassin  had  escaped ;  Andrew  Johnson  had  been  duly  in 
stalled  as  the  President  of  the  United  States;  the  body 
of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  removed,  on  the  19th  of  April,  to 
his  old  home  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  for  burial.  Home 
again,  and  for  burial!  tas  so  many  brave  men  had  been 
carried  before  him  in  our  civil  war. 

Permission  having  been  granted  from  the  headquarters  of 
the  army  to  all  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Army  of  North 
ern  Virginia  who  were  not  present  at  the  surrender  of  that 
army  by  General  Eobert  E.  Lee  at  Appomattox  Court 
House  on  the  9th  of  April,  upon  laying  down  their  arms 
and  receiving  their  paroles,  to  avail  themselves  of  the  terms 
of  that  capitulation,  the  constant  influx  within  my  lines  of 
those  who  had  thus  been  paroled  seemed  to  me  to  call  for 
a  proclamation  which  should  make  clear  the  status  of  those 
deceived  and  deluded  masses  whom  we  had  vanquished 
in  war.  Accordingly,  on  the  19th  of  April,  I  distributed 
the  following :  — 


DISTRICT   OF   EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  405 

"To  those  erring  and  misguided  persons  who  have  been 
allowed  to  return  to  their  homes,  and  to  all  to  whom  it  may  be 
applicable,  this  order  is  promulgated. 

"  Many  of  you  have  been  madly  attempting  the  destruction 
of  our  common  country,  but  a  just  God  has  defeated  your  efforts. 
You  have  experienced  the  might  of  your  Government ;  you  are 
now  permitted  to  enjoy  its  clemency.  You  are  again  at  home, 
with  the  loved  flag  of  the  Nation  to  defend,  succor,  and  protect. 
You  are  received  into  this  district  in  the  belief  that,  truly  peni 
tent  for  the  -past,  you  will  become  good  citizens  in  the  future; 
that  you  will,  in  return  for  the  confidence  bestowed,  show  your 
selves  worthy  that  confidence. 

"  In  that  belief,  you  may  rely  upon  fair  and  impartial  treat 
ment.  Upon  a  proper  manifestation  of  allegiance,  you  shall  seek 
your  own  living  as  you  may  choose,  and  be  subjected  to  no  ex 
cessive  restraints.  You  shall  share  equally  all  the  privileges  that 
can  with  safety  be  bestowed  on  any.  Thus  will  you  be  trusted. 

"  With  yourselves  and  your  families  remains  your  future  of 
happiness,  or  of  misery.  As  you  give,  so  shall  you  receive. 
With  what  measure  you  mete  out  your  loyalty,  protection  and 
pardon  shall  be  meted  out  to  you.  A  surly  and  dogged  obedi 
ence,  a  traitorous  lip-service,  and  a  sneering  worship  in  God's 
holy  temple,  with  treason  in  the  heart,  will  not  assure  such 
happiness  to  the  male  or  female  subject  that  joy  will  be  born 
therefrom. 

,  "  Let  there  be  thanks  to  God  that  the  heart  of  the  Nation  has 
been  turned  to  pardon,  rather  than  to  punishment;  but  take 
heed  that  offence  cometh  not  again! " 

There  are  many  interesting  bits  of  history  connected 
with  the  first  efforts  of  loyal  commanders  to  tone  down  the 
rebellious  spirit  of  returning  Rebels.  On  the  one  hand 
there  was  the  rage,  chagrin,  and  mortification  of  the  con 
quered,  and  on  the  other,  the  overbearing  and  sometimes 
unreasonable  exercise  of  unrestrained  will  by  the  con 
queror.  If,  on  the  one  hand,  it  was  hard  to  yield,  on  the 
other  it  was  hard  to  be  just.  Submission  and  penitence 


406  A  WAR  DIARY. 

were  exacted  from  those  who  still  held  in  their  hearts  all 
the  malevolence  and  anger  that  civil  war  engenders.  The 
following  case  illustrates  the  animosity  which  existed,  the 
degree  of  self-iinposed  mortification  which  followed,  and 
the  harsh  spirit  in  which  commanders  received  the  sub 
mission  of  returning  Eebels. 

The  Eev.  George  D.  Armstrong,  a  Presbyterian  clergy 
man  of  Norfolk,  had  taken,  in  December,  1863,  the  oath 
prescribed  by  the  President  as  a  condition  of  grace,  under 
which  he  was  to  enjoy  his  civil  privileges  so  far  as  was 
possible  in  a  state  of  war, —  doing  nothing  which  could 
give  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemy,  and  receiving  in  return 
immunity  from  vexatious  proceedings.  On  the  4th  of 
March,  1864,  Butler  sent  this  reverend  gentleman  to  Fort 
Hatteras  in  North  Carolina,  there  to  be  held  as  a  prisoner 
of  war.  The  somewhat  entertaining  tournament  between 
Butler  as  an  expounder  of  Christian  principles  and  church 
practices  and  the  Eev.  Mr.  Armstrong  was  preserved  in 
the  files  of  the  "  New  Eegime,"  where  all  the  most  savory 
performances  of  the  commander  of  that  department  were 
served  up  to  enrapture  his  obsequious  worshippers.  I  give 
it  with  its  heading,  as  cut  from  a  Eichmond  paper  of  the 
23d  of  April,  1864,  —  thus  not  only  snatching  this  literary 
gem  from  oblivion,  but  preserving  some  of  the  compli 
ments  with  which  our  enemies  greeted  Benjamin  in  that 
season :  — 

AN  EXAMINATION  IN  A  "SUBJUGATED"  CITY. — A  few  days 
since  we  published  the  examination  of  Eev.  Mr.  Armstrong,  of 
Norfolk,  by  an  order  of  Butler,  upon  the  charge  of  disloyalty. 
The  oath  which  the  accused  had  taken  was  an  oath  of  parole, 
and  the  charge  against  the  prisoner  seems  to  have  been  disloyalty 
in  his  feelings.  In  a  late  copy  of  "The  New  Eegime/'  pub 
lished  at  Norfolk,  we  find  a  report  of  a  subsequent  examination 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  407 

of  Mr.  Armstrong  by  the  in  person  at  Fortress  Monroe. 

We  give  it  as  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  times : — 

•  "  General  B.  —  I  have  read  a  report,  Mr.  Armstrong,  of  an 
examination  of  yourself  by  one  of  my  aides-de-camp  in  regard  to 
the  question  of  your  loyalty.  Now  I  need  not  say  to  a  man  as 
experienced  as  yourself,  that  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  is  only 
a  manifestation  of  loyalty;  that  as  a  man  might  join  your 
church  and  still  be  a  very  bad  man  after  so  doing,  so  a  man  may 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  still  be  a  very  disloyal  man. 

"  Rev.  Mr.  A.  —  If  you  will  allow  me  to  make  a  statement 
to  you,  I  will  do  so ;  or  I  will  answer  such  questions  as  you 
please. 

"  General.  —  Make  your  own  statement,  sir. 

"Mr.  A.  — The  view  with  which  I  took  the  oath  was  this :  I 
believe  the  military  commander  has  a  right  to  demand  of  the 
citizens  at  any  time  that  they  shall  take  a  parole.  I  regard  Nor 
folk  as  for  the  present  a  conquered  city ;  indeed,  I  have  had  no 
idea  that  the  Confederates  would  again  take  it,  and  that  if  it 
ever  again  did  become  a  part  of  Virginia,  it  would  be  by  treaty 
at  the  end  of  the  war.  I  wished,  in  accordance  with  the  Scrip 
tural  injunction,  to  *  obey  the  powers  that  be/  and  I  believe 
the  United  States  to  be  'the  powers  that  be.'  I  took  the  oath 
with  the  intention  of  keeping  it  so  far  as  my  actions  were  con 
cerned.  My  feelings,  of  course,  I  cannot  control.  My  words 
and  actions  I  can. 

"  General.  —  That  brings  me,  sir,  to  a  matter  to  which  I  wish 
to  call  your  careful  attention.  Your  unrevealed  thoughts  I  can 
only  get  by  asking  questions.  Now,  sir,  I  want  to  ask  you  a 
few  questions.  Did  you  in  any  way  advise,  consult  with,  or 
give  any  information  to  Mrs.  Mclntosh  in  relation  to  selling  any 
property  in  Norfolk  ? 

"  Mr.  A.  —  Not  that  I  recollect. 

"  General.  —  Let  me  try  and  quicken  your  recollection  a  little. 
You  know  her] 

"Mr.  A.  —  Yes,  sir. 

"General.  — She  is  a  sister  of  Captain  Mclntosh,  of  the  so- 
called  Confederate  States  Navy1? 


408  A  WAR   DIARY. 

" Mr.  A.  —  His  wife;  she  is  a  member  of  my  church.  She 
was  about  selling  her  property  — 

"  General.  - — Wait  one  moment.  Don't  you  remember  whether 
you  advised  her  about  selling  it  in  any  way  1 

11  Mr.  A.  —  I  talked  with  her.  I  don't  recollect  what  I  said. 
I  believe  there  was  a  conversation  about  her  selling  her  property 
and  removing  to  Baltimore,  — no,  not  about  selling  her  property. 
She  told  me,  as  her  pastor,  that  she  was  going  to  remove  to 
Baltimore. 

"General. — Did  you  then  and  there  say  to  her,  that  she  had 
better  not  remove  or  sell  her  property,  because  the  Confederates 
would  soon  have  the  city  of  Norfolk,  and  her  property  would 
then  be  worth  more,  or  words  to  that  effect?  Answer  me  that 
question,  now,  without  mental  reservation  or  equivocation. 

" Mr.  A.  —  No,  sir.  I  urged  her  not  to  go  away  from  Nor 
folk,  on  account  of  her  church. 

"General.  — Did  you  say  anything  like  it? 

"Mr.A.—'Ko,  sir. 

"General. — Did  you  say  anything  as  to  the  time  when  you 
thought  the  Confederates  would  have  Norfolk  ? 

"Mr.  A.  —  No,  sir.  j 

"  General.  —  Anything  of  the  sort  ? 

"Mr.  A.— No,  sir. 

"  General.  — You  pray  for  the  authorities] 

" Mr.  A. — I  pray  for  the  authorities  over  us;  and  I  publicly 
explain  to  my  congregation,  that  in  so  doing  we  were  praying 
for  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

"  General. — Do  your  people  understand  it? 

"Mr.  A.  —  They  do.     I  have  publicly  explained  it. 

"  General.  —  Have  you,  since  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance,  or 
at  any  other  time,  checked  one  of  the  members  of  your  congre 
gation  when  he  was  praying  for  the  President] 

" Mr.  A. — Have  I  checked  them? 

"General.  —  Chided  them  in  any  way  or  form  of  words'? 

"  Mr.  A.  —  Not  that  I  recollect. 

"  General.  —  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir ;  it  is  not  a  matter  of  recol 
lection.  It  is  a  thing  you  cannot  forget. 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  409 

"Mr.  A— No,  sir. 

"  General.  —  Did  not  one  of  the  members  of  your  congregation 
pray  for  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  did  not  you 
say  that  it  had  better  not  be  done  ;  that  there  were  two  parties 
to  please  here  1 

"  Mr.  A.  —  Never,  sir. 

"  General.  —  Nothing  of  the  sort  ? 

"  Mr.  A.  —  Nothing  of  the  sort. 

"  General.  —  I  perceive  that  in  your  former  examination  you 
declined  answering  this  question  :  '  Do  you  call  yourself  a  loyal 
man  in  letter  and  spirit  to-day  1 ' 

"  Mr.  A.  —  I  do  not  decline  to  answer  now.  If  I  were  to  put 
my  own  interpretation  upon  it  I  should  say  I  am ;  but  I  don't 
know,  sir. 

"  General.  —  Well,  sir,  perhaps  I  can  teach  you.  Now,  sir, 
what  is  the  name  of  that  gentleman  who  had  taken  the  oath, 
and,  while  coming  out  of  the  Custom  House  with  you,  made  the 
remark  that  he  f  would  like  to  spit  upon  the  Northern  Yankees '  1 

"  Mr.  A.  —  Mr.  Charles  Eeid.  I  declined  to  answer  on  my 
former  examination  because  I  had  not  his  consent  to  tell,  sir ; 
but  since  that  I  have  seen  him,  and  he  has  given  me  his  consent 
to  mention  his  name. 

"  General.  —  Where  is  Mr.  Reid "? 

«  Mr.  A.  —  He  is  in  Norfolk. 

"  General.  —  (To  an  aid.)  Telegraph  to  Colonel  Whelden 
(provost-marshal,  Norfolk)  to  arrest  Mr.  Charles  Eeid  and  send 
him  here.  He  lives  on  Main  street. 

"  General.  —  He  stated  that  as  he  came  out  from  taking  the 
oath  ? 

"Mr.  A.  —  Yes,  sir. 

"  General  —  With  the  oath  fresh  on  his  lips  and  the  words 
hardly  dry  in  his  mouth,  he  said  he  '  wanted  to  spit  in  the  face 
of  the  Northern  Yankees '  1 

"  Mr.  A.  —  Well,  General,  he  took  it  with  the  same  view  as  1  did. 

"  General.  —  I  agree  to  that,  sir. 

"  Mr.  A.  —  I  meant  to  say  — 

"  General.  — Stop,  sir.  I  don't  like  to  be  insulted.  You  said, 
sir,  that  that  infernal  Secessionist  wanted  to  spit  in  the  faces  of 


410  A  WAR  DIARY. 

loyal  men  of  this  Union,  and  that  you  took  the  oath  with  the 
same  view  as  he  did,  or  rather  he  took  it  with  the  same  view 
that  you  did,  —  it  makes  no  difference  which.  I  agree,  sir,  that 
you  did.  I  have  treated  you,  sir,  during  this  interview,  with 
propriety  and  courtesy  up  to  this  moment,  and  yet  you,  sir,  here 
tell  me,  in  order  to  clear  this  vile  wretch  who  shall  be  punished 
as  he  deserves,  that  you  took  the  oath  to  my  Government  with  the 
same  view  that  he  did. 

"  Mr.  A.  —  Well,  sir,  it  was  a  mortifying  fact  to  confess  that 
we  were  a  conquered  people,  and  it  was  the  irritation  growing 
out  of  that  fact. 

"  General.  —  You  have  not  helped  it,  sir.  You  had  not  better 
go  on  in  that  direction  any  further,  sir,  for  your  own  sake.  Now, 
sir,  while  you  did  preach  a  very  virulent  sermon  upon  'The 
Victory  of  Manassas,'  at  the  recommendation  of  the  Confederate 
Congress,  have  you  ever  since  preached  in  your  pulpit  a  sermon 
favorable  to  the  Union  cause,  or  one  that  would  be  likely  to 
please  the  loyal  and  displease  the  disloyal  1 

"  Mr.  A.  —  No,  sir,  I  never  have. 

"  General.  —  You  have  said  you  '  do  not  think  this  a  wicked 
rebellion.'  Do  you  still  hold  to  that  opinion] 

"Mr.  A.—  Yes,  sir. 

"  General.  —  You  have  not  opened  your  church  upon  any  of 
the  days  recommended  by  the  authorities.  I  want  a  more 
explicit  answer,  sir,  than  you  have  given  previously.  You  know 
whether  you  have  or  not.  How  is  it? 

"Mr.  A.  —  I  should  have  to  answer,  sir,  that  I  did.  There 
were  prayer-meetings  held  in  the  church.  No  addresses  were 
made.  There  was  a  prayer  for  peace. 

"  General.  —  You  said  you  '  would  not  willingly  open  your 
church  to  any  recognized  minister  of  the  Gospel  from  such  de 
nominations  as  before  the  war  you  would  have  exchanged  with, 
did  you  know  he  would  pray  for  the  Union,  and  against  the 
Kebels'3 

"Mr.  A.-—  Yes,  sir. 

"  General.  —  You  said  you  looked  upon  the  hanging  of  John 
Brown  as  just  and  right  because  he  interfered  with  the  peace  of 
the  country  ? 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  411 

"Mr.  A.  —Yes,  sir. 

11  General. — Very  good,  sir.  Now,  then,  would  you  look 
upon  the  hanging  of  the  prominent  Kebels,  Jefferson  Davis,  for 
instance,  as  just  and  right  ]  —  You  know  the  Rebels  have  inter 
fered  with  the  peace  of  the  country,  and  have  caused  rivers  of 
blood  to  flow  where  John  Brown  only  caused  pints.  What  do 
you  say  to  that "? 

"  Mr.  A.  — I  would  not,  sir. 

"  General.  —  Are  your  sympathies  with  the  Union  or  the  Con 
federate  cause  1 

11  Mr.  A.  —  With  the  Confederates. 

"  General.  —  I  don't  see,  sir,  what  good  the  oath  has  been  to  you. 

"  Mr.  A.  —  I  thought  the  oath  was  an  oath  of  amnesty. 

"  General.  —  You  took  the  oath,  sir,  for  the  purpose  of  having 
the  United  States  protect  you  while  you  should,  by  your  con 
duct  and  your  life,  aid  and  comfort  the  Eebels.  It  is  an  oath 
of  amnesty  to  those  who  take  it  in  truth,  and  come  back  repent 
ant  to  the  United  States.  You  are  a  Presbyterian.  A  man 
comes  to  you ;  you  are  about  to  take  him  into  communion.  You 
say  to  him,  'You  have  heretofore  been  a  wicked  man.'  He  says, 
'  Yes,  sir.'  You  ask  him  if  he  has  experienced  a  change  of 
heart.  He  says,  'No,  sir.'  You  ask,  '  Are  your  sympathies  with 
us  or  the  devil  ] '  He  says,  '  The  devil.'  You  ask,  '  Which  would 
you  like  to  have  prevail  in  this  world,  God  or  the  devil  ?*  He 
says,  'The  devil.'  You  ask,  '  Where  are  your  friends  V  He  says, 
1  With  the  devil.'  Then  you  ask  him,  '  Do  you  think  you  can 
join  the  church  with  your  present  feelings  1 '  He  replies,  '  I  think 
I  can,  to  get  the  bread  and  wine  at  the  altar.'  Think  of  it,  sir, 
anywhere  else,  and  as  a  man  of  Christian  professions,  saying 
nothing  of  Christian  practice.  I  call  upon  you  to  think  of  it. 
Sworn  to  be  loyal  and  true  to  the  United  States,  here  you  are 
with  your  sympathies  against  them.  You,  sir,  are  a  perjured 
man  in  the  sight  of  God.  It  is  an  oath  of  amnesty  to  those 
who  truly  repent,  precisely  as  Christ  shed  his  blood  for  those 
who  repent,  but  not  for  those  who  would  crucify  him  afresh. 
For  you,  sir,  it  was  an  oath  of  amnesty.  I  should  be  just  as 
wrong  in  receiving  you,  sir,  as  a  loyal  man,  as  you  would  in 
receiving  such  a  man  as  I  have  described  into  your  church.  (To 


412  A  WAR  DIARY. 

an  aid.)  —  Maker  an  order  that  this  man  be  committed  to  the 
guard-house,  in  close  confinement,  there  to  remain  until  he  can 
be  consigned  to  Fort  Hatteras,  there  to  be  kept  in  solitary  con 
finement  until  further  orders,  and  send  a  copy  of  this  examina 
tion  to  the  officer,  in  command  there." 

In  a  subsequent  number  of  "  The  New  Regime  "  we 
find  the  following :  — 

"The  Eev.  George  D.  Armstrong,  of  this  city,  who,  after 
taking  the  oath  of  allegiance,  had  given  utterance  to  disloyal 
sentiments,  yesterday  sailed  for  Fort  Hatteras,  where  he  is 
to  be  confined  for  some  time. 

"  Charles  Reid,  of  this  city,  has  been  ordered  outside  our  lines 
for  a  like  offending,  and  will  go  up  the  James  River  in  the  next 
flag-of-truce  boat." 

The  manner  of  this  reverend  gentleman's  release  from 
imprisonment,  his  return  to  Norfolk,  and  his  desire  to 
resume  his  pastoral  duties,  were  set  forth  in  a  letter  to  my 
provost-marshal  as  follows  :  — 

NORFOLK,  VA.,  April  22,  1865. 
To  Colonel  Mann,  Provost-Marshal,  District  Eastern  Virginia : 

SIR,  —  Having  returned  to  Norfolk  after  a  constrained  absence 
of  more  than  a  year,  I  wish  to  resume  my  ministerial  charge  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  city,  and  now  ask  that  I  may 
be  allowed  to  do  so. 

In  connection  with  this  request,  I  make  the  following  state 
ment  of  facts  in  my  case. 

1.  On  the  4th  of  March,  1864,  I  was  arrested,  sent  to  Fort 
Hatteras,  North  Carolina,  and  there  imprisoned  by  order  of  Major- 
General  B.  F.  Butler.  Early  in  the  December  preceding,  I  had 
taken  "  the  oath  of  amnesty  "  published  by  the  late  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  had  never,  in  so  far  as  I  know,  by  any  act 
of  mine,  violated  that  oath.  In  his  order  directing  my  imprison 
ment,  General  Butler  does  not  charge  me  with  any  act  or  word 
spoken  in  public  in  violation  of  my  oath,  but  with  having  taken 
the  oath  improperly. 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  413 

2.  After  being  detained  in  prison  for  several  months,  I  was, 
by  General  Butler's   orders,  sent  through  "  the  lines  "  to  Rich 
mond,  which  place  I  reached  September  28,  1864.     This  was 
not  at  my  request,  or  the  request  of  my  friends,  —  my  wish 
being  to  return  to  my  home  in  this  city. 

3.  Shortly  after  reaching   Richmond,  I  received  an  appoint 
ment  from  the   Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  at  Columbia, 
South  Carolina,  as  a  Missionary  to  the  Third  Corps  of  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia  (from  the  Government  I  had  no  commis 
sion)  ;  and  in  this  capacity  I  was  laboring  at  the  time  of  the 
retreat  of  that  army  to  Appomattox  Court  House.    At  the  sur 
render   of  that   army,   by  advice  of  General  Longstreet  then 
commanding  the  Third  Corps,  I  was  paroled  along  with  his 
staff  as  a   missionary  in   the   army,   and   in   this   situation   I 
have  now  returned  to  Norfolk. 

4.  By  the  events  of  the  last  few  weeks,  I  consider  the  war  as 
practically  ended.     I  accept  the   result  as  it  is.     I  regard  the 
authorities  of  the  United  States  as  "the  powers  that  be"  of  Scrip 
ture,  and  therefore  "powers  ordained  of   God,"  and  acknowl 
edge  it  to  be  my  duty  to  yield  them  the  obedience  and  support 
of  a  good  citizen.     This  obligation  it  is  my  intention  honestly 
to  discharge. 

5.  As  I  have  never  regarded  "  the  oath  of  amnesty,"  taken  in 
December.  1863,  as  a  proper  oath  of  allegiance,  I  this  day  applied 
to  the  Assistant  Provost-Marshal  to  administer  to  me  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  United  States.      This  he  informed  me  a 
recent  order  prohibited  his  doing  in  cases  such  as  mine,  except 
upon  order  of  the  General  'commanding.     For  this  reason  my 
request  is  not  accompanied  with  any  certificate  of  having  taken 
such  oath. 

In  view  of  the  above  statement  of  facts  and  intentions,  I 
would  now  repeat  my  request  that  I  be  allowed  to  resume  my 
ministerial  duties  in  the  Presbyterian  church  in  this  city. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

GEO.  D.  ARMSTRONG. 

The  request  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  to  be 
permitted  to  resume  his  clerical  duties,  was  granted  upon 


414  A  WAR  DIARY. 

condition  that  he  should  make  due  submission  by  signing 
a  paper  which  I  drew  up  and  forwarded  for  his  signature. 
It  is  perhaps  needless  to  add  that  the  conditio  sine  qua 
non  was  not  accepted,  and  that  Mr.  Armstrong,  therefore, 
abstained  for  a  period  from  further  ministerial  duties. 

Next  in  order  came  an  appeal,  so  deferential  and  pa 
thetic,  that  it  inclined  my  heart  unto  a  willingness  to  do 
all  in  my  power  for  one  so  crushed  and  humbled.  The 
appeal  was  as  follows  :  — 

NORFOLK,  May  4,  1865. 
GENERAL  : 

SIR,  —  I  very  respectfully  submit  myself  to  you  ;  and  in  the 
same  tone  ask  that  you  will  give  me  a  pass  to  my  farm,  six  miles 
in  the  country  on  the  Government  Bridge  Road.  I  own  prop 
erty  in  this  and  the  connected  counties.  I  am,  sir, 

Your  very  obedient  servant, 

SAM.  WELES, 
Surgeon-in-Chief  of  General  Johnston's  Army. 

There  was  also  a  notable  correspondence  with  that  irre 
pressible  Virginian  whom  we  left,  it  will  be  remembered, 
in  1863,  quarrelling  with  General  E.  B.  Keyes  over  a  lu 
natic  asylum  at  Williamsburg,  on  the  Peninsula.  Now  we 
found  him  at  Norfolk,  addressing  the  commanding  general 

in  the  following  letter :  — 

NORFOLK,  May  30,  1865. 

GENERAL  GORDON,  —  It  is  indispensably  necessary  for  the  in 
terests  of  the  Government  and  myself  for  me  to  have  a  brief 
interview  with  the  executive  officer  having  the  most  extended 
jurisdiction  in  this  place.  Believing  that  you  are  that  officer,  I 
beg  you  will  grant  me  such  interview  at  your  earliest  conve 
nience  ;  an  almost  total  physical  decrepitude  induces  me  to  add 
the  hope  that  if  you  grant  it,  you  will  not  defer  it  a  moment 
longer  than  necessary. 

Respectfully, 

JOHN  C.  WISE, 

(per  amanuensis). 


DISTRICT   OF   EASTERN   VIRGINIA.  415 

To  a  request  that  he  would  make  known  his  wants,  he 
replied,  on  the  30th  of  May,  that  he  wished  to  inquire  as 
to  the  nature  of  the  relation  between  the  United  States 
Government  and  himself:  whether  he  was  a  citizen,  and 
entitled  to  the  privileges  and  franchises  of  such.  He 
further  stated  that  the  greater  part  of  his  farm  had  been 
seized  by  the  United  States  authorities,  and  that  his  family 
was  consequently  destitute.  He  closed  by  asking  for  as 
sistance.  To  this  communication  I  so  replied  that  the 
following  rejoinder  closed  the  correspondence :  — 

ROLLESTON,  June  1,  1865. 

GENERAL,  — Thankful  for  your  note  just  handed  me,  I  reply 
that  self-respect  will  not  allow  me  to  notice  your  personal 
charges.  It  is  also  absolutely  impossible,  owing  to  my  physical 
condition  and  want  of  agents,  to  attempt  the  prosecution  of  a 
claim  for  damages  against  the  Government ;  nor'can  I  apply  to 
or  receive  anything  from  a  charity  commission. 

Respectfully, 

JNO.  C.  WISE. 
Brigadier-General  Gordon. 

In  this  hurly-burly  of  restoration  many  odd  perplexities 
arose.  The  Eebel  uniform,  as  a  badge  of  rebellious  service, 
was  so  offensive  to  the  eyes  of  Union  men,  that  I  felt  con 
strained  to  suppress  it  upon  its  first  appearance ;  and  I  did 
so  in  an  order  which  for  a  time  caused  much  concern  as 
to  how  long  a  returned  Eebel  would  be  compelled  to  lie  in 
bed  if  his  tailor  were  false  to  his  agreement,  or  if  the  man 
were  too  poor  to  employ  a  tailor.  The  Attorney-General 
of  the  United  States  having  considered  this .  among  other 
questions  connected  with  the  surrender  at  Appomattox, 
published  his  opinion,  that  the  act  of  wearing  the  Kebel 
uniform  by  a  paroled  Eebel  was  a  new  act  of  hostility, 
which  justified  the  Government  in  withdrawing  its  parole. 


416  A  WAR  DIARY. 

This  judgment  was  promulgated  as  a  military  order  by 
the  Secretary  of  War,  for  the  government  of  all  concerned. 

But  I  soon  found  that  there  might  be  other  acts  of 
hostility  much  more  reprehensible  than  wearing  a  Rebel 
uniform,  and  better  justifying  the  withdrawal  of  a  parole. 
A  positive  manifestation  of  hostility  or  a  continuing  re 
bellious  state  furnished  much  stronger  evidence  of  alien 
ation,  and  one  upon  which  I  felt  justified  in  acting  under 
the  Secretary's  order.  A  former  resident  of  Norfolk,  a  sur 
geon  in  the  Eebel  army  who  had  been  paroled  and  allowed 
to  return  to  his  home,  accosted  one  of  his  old  acquaintances 
in  the  street  with  — 

"  Where  have  you  been  ?  " 

"  I  Ve  been  in  the  service,"  was  the  reply. 

"  What  service  ? "  said  the  doctor. 

"Why,  the  United  States  service,  of  course !" 

"  If  you  have  been  in  the  mean  Yankee  service,  don't 
dare  to  shake  hands  with  me  !  I  don't  desire  to  have  any 
thing  more  to  do  with  you,"  was  the  retort. 

When  this  pleasant  little  episode  was  brought  to  my 
attention  I  sent  for  this  distinguished  Eebel,  confronted 
him  with  his  accuser,  established  the  facts  as  I  have  given 
them,  and  sent  him  to  the  provost-marshal  for  confinement, 
until  he  made  such  a  public  revocation  of  his  words  as 
the  occasion  demanded.  To  let  it  be  known  to  all  that  the 
Government  was  administered  upon  the  principle  that  one 
may  be  punished  for  rebellious  utterances  as  well  as  re 
bellious  acts,  I  published  an  order  that  the  contumacious 
Rebel  be  confined  by  the  provost-marshal  as  a  disturber  of 
the  peace  and  as  a  Rebel  who  avowed  his  unwillingness 
to  associate  with  a  loyal  man  who,  singularly  enough, 
seemed  willing  to  associate  and  shake  hands  with  him. 
And  in  another  case,  in  which  a  Rebel  lieutenant,  wishing 
to  salve  his  wounded  feelings  by  a  show  of  dignity,  wrote 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTEKN   VIRGINIA.  417 

to  an  officer  of  my  command,  on  the  20th  of  April,  at  York- 
town,  that,  to  avoid  further  collision  between  his  men  and 
the  Federal  troops,  he  wished  to  surrender  upon  the  same 
terms  that  were  accorded  to  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia  by  General  Grant,  I  replied  that  he  need  not  bother 
himself  about  a  collision,  for  if  he  did  not  surrender  he 
would  be  caught  and  hanged. 

The  army  that  surrendered  to  General  Sherman  made 
an  even  greater  effort  to  preserve  its  dignity,  as  well  as 
more  material  advantages;  but  it  will  be  remembered 
that  what  at  first  threatened  to  be  the  cause  of  great  un 
easiness  was  finally  settled  by  orders  from  Washington. 
On  the  twenty-eighth  I  received  the  following  despatch 
from  Richmond :  — 

Fire  one  hundred  guns  !  General  Johnston  has  surrendered 
with  all  his  army  north  of  the  Chattahoochie,  on  the  same  terms 
with  General  Lee. 

E.  0.  C.  ORD, 

Major-General  Commanding. 

Then  we  knew  that  our  work  was  done,  and  that  the 
cloud  which  had  been  gathering  over  Sherman's  head  had 
passed  away. 

As  early  as  the  3d  of  May,  Salmon  P.  Chase,  the  Chief- 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  accom 
panied  by  a  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  left  Washington 
for  a  Southern  tour,  intending  to  go  as  far  as  New  Or 
leans,  to  observe  as  he  went  the  adaptability  of  the  people 
in  their  then  condition  for  civil  government.  Norfolk  was 
taken  on  the  way,  and  there  I  met  the  party.  Mr.  Chase 
distinctly  enunciated  the  policy  to  be  pursued  in  restor 
ing  civil  government  to  the  insurgent  States.  Governor 
Pierpont,  he  told  me,  was  to  be  recognized  as  governor  of 
Virginia  ;  the  Constitution  as  adopted  at  Alexandria  was  to 

27 


418  A  WAR  DIARY. 

be  acknowledged  as.  the  new  Constitution  of  the  State. 
Whether  Eebels  not  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  amnesty 
proclamation  of  Dec.  8, 1863,  were  to  be  permitted  to  vote, 
and  if  so  when,  was  to  depend  upon  future  National  and 
State  legislation.  The  Chief  Justice  expressed  himself  as 
decidedly  of  the  opinion  that  the  colored  people  should  be 
allowed  to  take  a  hand  in  the  reconstruction  of  the  South 
ern  States  ;  that  they  should  be  encouraged  to  meet  in 
conventions,  and  should  be  intrusted  with  the  ballot,  - 
"  For,"  said  he,  "  their  hearts  are  right,  if  their  heads  are 
empty."  Thus  it  happened,  —  mirabile  dictu  !  —  that  the 
slave  was  permitted  to  pass  upon  the  question  whether  his 
former  master  should  be  endowed  with  those  civil  rights 
which  he  had  forfeited  through  treasonable  acts.  I  enter 
tained  the  party  at  my  house  for  a  time,  and  then  drove 
with  them  to  the  outskirts  of  Norfolk,  where  Mr.  Chase 
viewed  with  much  interest  the  outer  line  of  defences,  — 
for  he  had  entered  Norfolk  with  General  Wool  when  that 
old  hero  made  his  grand  march  to  the  city.  This  was 
the  scene  of  Mr.  Chase's  first  and  last  military  achieve 
ment.  The  savage  front  of  war  had  become  very  peace 
ful  now;  strawberries  grew  on  the  half-destroyed  Eebel 
parapet,  and  the  ladies  plucked  them  as  mementos  of 
the  day  when  the  honored  Chief-Justice  was  a  soldier  of 
the  Union. 

With  the  surrender  of  Johnston's  army  came  the  anni 
hilation  of  the  Confederacy.  The  war  of  destruction  at  an 
end,  the  war  of  reconstruction  began.  For  a  time  there 
was  no  method  in  the  work ;  it  was  a  jumble  of  collisions. 
Hardly  had  I,  in  conformity  with  direct  orders  from  the 
Department  Commander,  declared  that  paroled  officers  of 
the  Rebel  army  could,  if  they  desired,  be  furnished  with 
free  passages  and  passports  to  Halifax,  and  that  paroled 
mechanics,  upon  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance,  could,  if 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  419 

they  desired,  be  furnished  with  free  passages  to  Philadel 
phia,  New  York,  or  Boston,  than  an  exceedingly  bitter  out 
burst  came  from  the  Secretary  of  War  or  his  servitor,  di 
recting  an  immediate  revocation,  and  demanding  by  what 
authority  I  had  done  this  thing.  Soon,  however,  Presiden 
tial  proclamations  resolved  chaotic  elements  into  a  more 
orderly  arrangement,  and  commanding  officers  used  their 
power  to  restore  the  civil  machinery  which  had  so  long 
been  trampled  out  of  sight  under  the  feet  of  contending 
armies.  Before  the  1st  of  May  internal  domestic  and  com 
mercial  restrictions  had  been  generally  removed,  within 
the  lines  of  national  military  occupation,  in  favor  of  those 
who  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  since  Jan.  1,  1865. 
On  the  13th  of  June  a  proclamation  declared  that  sea 
ports  were  to  be  opened  to  foreign  commerce  on  the  1st 
of  the  ensuing  July,  and  a  provisional  governor  was  ap 
pointed  for  Mississippi. 

In  the  internal  administration  of  each  military  depart 
ment  or  district,  however,  each  commander  used  his  own 
discretion.  In  the  Military  Division  of  the  James,  Halleck 
declared  the  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  be  a  sine  qud 
non  to  a  license  to  practise  a  profession,  follow  a  trade  or 
business,  or  to  act  as  a  president  or  director  of  a  corpora 
tion  within  the  cities  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  or  to 
engage  in  domestic  commerce  within  the  State  ;  and  that 
prior  to  taking  the  oath,  no  claimant  for  the  restoration  of 
private  property  before  any  provost-marshal  or  any  mili 
tary  officer,  court,  or  commission,  should  be  heard,  or  his 
claim  considered  or  granted  ;  no  clearance  or  permit  to 
ship  or  land  any  goods  should  be  given  to  any  person ; 
no  marriage  license  should  be  issued  to  persons  desir 
ing  to  be  married,  and  no  clergyman  or  magistrate  should 
perform  the  marriage  ceremony  ;  and  an  arrest  was  to  fol 
low  disobedience  of  any  of  these  orders.  My  district 


420  A  WAR  DIARY. 

being  within  Halleck's  division,  I  was  of  course  governed 
by  these  regulations. 

But  there  were  difficult  problems  beyond  the  reach  of 
oaths  of  allegiance.  The  poor,  the  starving  people,  —  what 
should  be  done  with  them  ?  It  is  much  easier  to  convert 
a  busy  multitude  of  workers  into  soldiers,  camp-followers, 
and  drones,  than  it  is  to  reconvert  them  into  laborers.  I 
appointed  boards  of  officers  to  examine  into  the  subject, 
and  so  far  as  possible  to  report  what  steps  should  be  taken 
within  my  district  to  furnish  work  for  the  willing,  homes 
for  the  destitute,  and  food  for  all.  The  steps  taken  to 
bring  about  this  end,  as  published  at  the  time,  more  fully 
reveal  the  exact  facts  to  be  considered  than  anything  I 
can  write  at  this  day. 

HEADQUARTERS,  DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA, 
NORFOLK,  May  10,  1865. 

To  the  People,  White  and  Colored,  within  this  District : 

You  are  now  called  upon  to  meet  a  question  of  vast  import 
ance,  the  discussion  of  which  has  often  agitated  the  country,  and 
been  presented  as  an  insurmountable  barrier  to  the  freedom  of 
the  colored  race. 

Now,  through  the  grace  of  God,  the  colored  man  is  free,  and 
he  is  here  demanding  a  social  status  in  your  midst.  He  is  here 
upon  your  farms  and  your  plantations,  in  your  towns  and  your 
cities ;  and  to-day  you  must  meet  the  fact,  and  this  hour  begin 
the  solution  of  the  problem.  Bad  men  for  political  ends,  weak- 
minded  men  and  women  (and  therefore  pitiable,  not  blarnable), 
have  been  deceived,  or  have  deceived  themselves,  in  regard  to 
the  difficulties  of  its  solution.  There  are  no  real  obstacles  in  the 
path  ;  nothing  that  for  one  moment  should  make  colonization  or 
expatriation  questionable  or  debatable. 

Whatever  rule  may  be  for  the  present  enforced  by  the  Na 
tion,  or  whatever  policy  adopted  by  the  State,  it  may  be  safely 
asserted  that  it  must  be  in  accordance  with  laws  adopted  at  the 
North,  governing  free  labor  for  those  who  can  work,  an  entire 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  421 

or  partial  support  of  those  who  cannot,  and  compulsory  labor  for 
those  who  can,  but  will  not.  Entire  or  partial  support,  in  States 
heretofore  free,  of  the  infirm  and  aged  poor,  or  the  homeless 
too  young  to  labor,  is  secured  in  every  town  or  county  in.  the 
most  humane  manner,  on  farms  conducted  and  supported  by  the 
town  or  county  for  whose  poor  provision  is  thus  made.  From 
these  farms  minor  children  are  bound  out  to  proper  persons  upon 
proper  and  humane  conditions.  At  the  poor-farms,  all  who  are 
able  labor  under  the  supervision  of  a  competent  overseer,  and 
thus  aid  the  town  or  county  in  their  support.  For  the  idle  and 
lazy  vagabond  the  penitentiary  is  provided,  where  compulsory 
labor  lessens  expense. 

Thus  in  each  community  there  is  provided  the  home,  the 
poorhouse,  and  the  penitentiary.  As  the  whites  of  the  South 
appreciate  the  incomparable  value  of  the  free  labor  of  the  col 
ored  man ;  as  they  find,  as  they  surely  will,  that  their  capital 
increases,  and  new  channels  for  industry  arise  in  proportion  to  a 
just,  moral,  and  intelligent  aid  given  to  raise  and  educate  his 
labor,  —  they  will  loudly  call  for  still  another  Northern  institu 
tion  that  lessens  expense  and  diminishes  inmates  of  poorhouses 
and  penitentiaries,  and  increases  the  number  of  homes,  —  the 
schoolhouse.  Then  they  will  appreciate  that  the  colored  labor 
in  their  communities  is  of  priceless  value,  and  will  regard  any 
effort  to  rid  themselves  of  it  as  springing  from  lamentable  igno 
rance  or  hopeless  insanity. 

The  colored  race  wish  to  live  and  labor  where  they  were 
born,  and  they  are  anxious  to  support  their  families  in  the  com 
munity  where  they  were  raised.  That  they  may  be  encouraged 
in  this  work ;  that  they  may  sustain  themselves  and  save  the 
community  from  expense  ;  that  they  may  build  up  their  homes 
arid  educate  their  children,  —  is  it  not  both  economy  and  wis 
dom  for  the  farmers  and  planters  to  hire  them  as  laborers  upon 
their  lands,  and  thus  relieve  the  community  from  the  support  of 
many  that  would  otherwise  fall  upon  the  public  charity  1  Is  it 
not  only  economical,  but  does  not  such  a  course  insure  greater 
public  security  ?  To  this  consideration  your  attention  is  invited. 
Aid  the  willing  laborer,  punish  and  confine  the  idle  and  lazy, 


422  A  WAR  DIARY. 

support  the  pauper,  and  educate  the  race.  Let  each  city,  county, 
and  town  charge  itself  with  the  management  of  these  institu 
tions,  and  there  will  be  no  insurmountable  difficulties  arising 
from  freedom  to  the  slave. 

In  this  district,  under  the  disadvantages  of  a  state  of  war,  the 
negro  population  have  been  treated,  as  far  as  possible,  in  con 
formity  with  the  principles  enunciated.  From  the  scarcity  of 
demand  for  farm  hands,  from  the  impracticability  of  adopting 
new  and  as  yet  untried  fields  of  labor  in  this  community,  from 
the  overcrowding  of  people  drawn  by  the  barbarities  of  war  from 
near  and  remote  plantations  and  homes,  the  Government  Agents, 
in  adopting  as  nearly  as  possible,  in  the  case  of  the  homeless 
and  landless  race,  the  Northern  institutions  of  the  home,  the 
schoolhouse,  the  poorhouse,  and  the  penitentiary,  have  been 
compelled  to  make  departures  from  their  practice  and  bestow 
charity  upon  those  who  would  work,  if  work  could  have  been 
found,  although  this  class  has  mostly  been  confined  to  females ; 
they  have  also  been  compelled  to  find  labor  for  the  colored  man 
where  he  should  have  found  work  for  himself.  And  thus  the 
Government  has  not  been  able  practically  to  teach  that  inexo 
rable  lesson  which  from  to-day  must  be  taught  the  colored  man, 
that  support  will  alone  come  from  the  laborer's  own  earnings, 
that  with  impartial  laws  and  all  aids  to  progress,  —  mental, 
moral,  and  physical,  —  the  negro  starts  forth  hereafter  to  hew 
his  own  way  through  all  obstacles  to  equality  before  man,  as  he 
now  stands  equal  before  the  law. 

For  the  steps  that  have  been  taken  in  this  District,  too  much 
praise  cannot  be  awarded  to  Captain  0.  Brown,  Superintendent 
of  Negro  Affairs,  under  whose  intelligent  effort  the  colored  man 
has  been  partially  instructed  that  he  must  earn  his  own  bread  by 
the  sweat  of  his  own  brow. 

By  Order  of  Brigadier-General  Geo.  H.  Gordon. 

T.  S.  t  HARRIS, 
Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  chaos  and  confusion  I  think  the 
newly-appointed  governors  of  insurgent  States  had  a  hard 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  423 

time  of  it.  I  know  it  was  so  with  His  Excellency  Gover 
nor  Pierpont,  of  Virginia,  for  he  appealed  to  me  often  in 
a  vehement  manner.  Now  he  was  very  anxious  to  set  up 
the  machinery  of  civil  courts;  now  he  was  exasperated 
because  a  man  whom  he  knew  to  be  loyal,  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Delegates  of  Virginia,  had  been  again  arrested 
by  the'ofricer  whom  I  had  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
Eastern  shore ;  and  again  he  was  fierce  in  his  appeals  for 
my  aid  in  securing  the  specie  and  good  notes  which  banks 
in  Norfolk  were  expecting  from  Canada,  where  they  had 
been  sent  early  in  the  war.  There  were  further  ripples  of 
excitement  in  the  disposal  of  our  iron-dads  and  monitors 
to  meet  the  Eebel  ram  "Stonewall,"  whose  arrival  at 
Nassau  was  communicated  to  me  by  telegraph  on  the  12th 
of  May ;  and  in  the  announcement  that  in  Washington, 
New  York,  Boston,  and  Philadelphia  efforts  were  being 
made,  through  a  pretended  scheme  of  emigration,  to  enlist 
soldiers  from  both  armies  to  drive  the  French  out  of 
Mexico. 

But  these  matters  were  forgotten  when  we  received  a 
telegraphic  despatch  on  the  fourteenth  announcing  the 
capture  of  Jefferson  Davis  by  the  Union  troops,  seventy- 
five  miles  east  of  Macon  in  Georgia.  On  Sunday,  the  21st 
of  May,  a  transport,  with  the  so-called  President  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy  and  his  family  on  board,  lay  at 
anchor  off  Fortress  Monroe.  By  the  twenty-third  a  strong 
cell  in  a  casemate  of  the  fort  had  received  its  occupant. 
There,  heavily  ironed  and  securely  guarded,  hopeless  and 
broken  in  spirit,  lay  the  once  proud  and  imperious  man  who 
defied  the  power  of  the  United  States  of  America.  Colonel 
Eoberts,  the  late  commander  of  the  fort,  told  me  that 
Davis  resisted  the  attempt  to  rivet  manacles  upon  his 
ankles,  demanding  to  see  the  officer  who  gave  the  order,  and 
that  he  was  accordingly  summoned.  "  What ! "  cried  the 


424  A  WAR  DIARY. 

fallen  President  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  "  you  surely 
are  not  going  to  put  irons  upon  me  ? "  —  "  It  is  my  order," 
replied  the  officer,  "  and,  revolting  as  it  is  to  me,  I  have 
no  alternative."  Seizing  a  musket  from  one  of  the  guards, 
as  if  to  provoke  a  mortal  blow,  —  preferring  death,  he  said, 
to  submission,  —  Davis  defied  for  a  moment  the  efforts  of 
his  jailers.  It  was  useless.  Four  men  seized  him,  and  held 
the  struggling  captive  prostrate  on  his  bed.  The  work  was 
soon  over.  Armorer  and  blacksmith  riveted  around  Davis's 
ankles  the  rings  which  were  attached  to  a  connecting  bar  of 
iron.  His  hands  were  free,  but  his  heart  was  broken ;  and 
in  his  anguish  he  cried  bitterly.  "  It  was  the  most  painful 
act  of  my  life,"  said  the  lieutenant  who  superintended  this 
work,  as  he  narrated  these  incidents  to  his  colonel. 

Painful?  So  it  must  have  been  at  best,  if  the  deed 
were  one  of  necessity.  But  was  it  ?  The  escape  of  Mr. 
Davis  was  an  absolute  impossibility.  His  cell  was  the 
inner  room  of  a  casemate ;  his  single  window  was  barred 
with  iron ;  the  connecting  rooms  were  filled  with  guards ; 
beyond,  were  the  outer  wall  of  granite  blocks,  and  a 
moat ;  within  the  fort  was  a  garrison  of  troops ;  the 
shores  were  lined  with  Federal  monitors  and  iron-dads, 
and  every  Eebel  army  had  been  dispersed.  The  prisoner 
was  held  safe  beyond  all  mortal  aid  or  rescue.  This 
resentful  and  remorseless  deed  was  inflicted  by  General 
Miles,  the  new  commander  of  the  fort ;  but  whether 
under  express  orders  from  an  implacable  authority,  or  at 
his  own  discretion,  no  one  knew,  though  it  was  asserted 
that  he  had  no  direct  orders  to  put  irons  on  his  prisoner. 
If  this  poor,  sickly  old  man  was  to  be  treated  with  in 
humanity,  our  hearts  would  turn  from  hate  for  his  deeds  to 
compassion  for  himself.  His  separation  from  his  wife  and 
family,  who  remained  upon  the  transport,  was  described 
as  most  affecting. 


DISTRICT  OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  425 

The  true  history  of  Jefferson  Davis's  imprisonment  will 
reveal  many  interesting  events.  At  that  time  we  had  only 
detached  incidents  of  his  daily  life.  For  the  first  twenty- 
four  hours  he  ate  but  a  single  piece  of  bread,  scarcely  as 
large  as  one's  fingers;  but  after  that  he  did  better,  and 
was  soon  supplied  with  the  same  ration  that  was  issued 
to  each  private  of  the  company  that  guarded  him,  —  and 
as  this  happened  to  be  one  of  the  best  on  duty  at  the  fort, 
the  distinguished  prisoner  had  the  advantage  of  one  of 
the  best  of  company  cooks.  His  meat  was  sent  to  him 
in  small  morsels,  and  he  had  to  manage  it  with  a  spoon ; 
for  prudential  reasons  he  was  debarred  the  use  of  a  knife. 
He  breakfasted  at  six  o'clock,  dined  at  one,  and  supped 
at  six,  —  primitive  hours  indeed,  but  they  were  the  hours 
of  issue  for  the  company  in  which  he  was  enrolled.  So 
continued  the  state  of  his  affairs  until  the  last  of  May, 
and  then  came  more  tender  treatment  and  more  whole 
some  food.  This  change  was  wrought  through  a  statement 
made  to  Miles  by  Dr.  Craven,  the  medical  director  of  the 
department,  that  he  would  not  be  responsible  for  the  life 
of  Jefferson  Davis  if  his  food  were  not  changed;  after 
which  he  was  supplied  from  the  good  Doctor's  own  table. 
That  his  irons  had  been  removed  has  been  both  asserted 
and  denied.  On  the  6th  of  June,  while  he  was  still  con 
fined  in  the  fort,  and  the  guarding  sentinels  kept  sleepless 
watch,  I  encountered  General  Miles  prancing  gayly  by 
the  grated  windows  and  barred  doors  of  his  prisoner's  cell, 
by  the  sentinels  beyond  the  moat  and  on  the  parapet,  trying 
the  mettle  of  a  spirited  horse  which  had  been  presented  to 
him  by  his  friends. 

In  the  mean  time  Mr.  Davis  had  been  indicted  for  trea 
sonable  acts  in  levying  war  against  the  United  States. 
A  copy  of  the  indictment,  which  appeared  in  the  New 
York  papers,  set  forth  the  specific  act  and  period  as  occur- 


426  A  WAR  DIARY. 

ring  in  August,  1864,  in  counselling,  aiding,  and  assisting 
in  an  attack  on  Washington. 

At  a  later  date,  in  June,  many  indictments  were  found 
and  returned  into  the  United  States  District  Court  for  the 
district  of  Norfolk,  for  some  of  which,  in  response  to  a  tele 
gram  from  the  commander  of  the  department,  I  furnished 
him  with  the  names  of  Eobert  E.  Lee,  James  Longstreet, 
Benjamin  Huger,  Henry  A.  Wise,  Eoger  A.  Pryor,  Jubal  A. 
Early,  Wade  Hampton,  Eobert  Ould,  and  others  to  the 
number  of  thirty-four.  In  the  indictments  military  titles 
were  not  given ;  some  of  the  indicted  may  have  been  citi 
zens.  Thus,  it  seemed,  might  the  great  and  interesting 
question  of  the  status  of  those  who  levied  war  against  the 
United  States  from  1861  to  1865  be  brought  before  the 
courts.  Patriot  or  Eebel,  through  success  or  failure,  was 
the  issue.  In  the  eyes  of  England  our  Eebels  were  belli 
gerents,  both  upon  land  and  sea ;  but  England  made  money 
by  that  decision,  and  we  lost.  In  1864  we  had  a  diplo 
matic  correspondence  with  Earl  Eussell,  in  which  he  insisted 
upon  England's  doctrine  of  belligerency.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  the  "  Army  and  Navy  Journal "  of  May  27,  1865, 
we  found  Francis  Lieber's  opinion  expressed,  that  paroled 
Eebels,  in  the  armies  of  Lee  and  of  Johnston,  might  be 
tried  for  treason  when  their  parole  ceased  de  facto.  By 
the  31st  of  May  all  the  Eebel  troops,  from  Maine  to  the 
Eio  Grande,  had  thrown  down  their  arms  and  returned  to 
their  homes.  With  the  surrender  of  Kirby  Smith,  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  disappeared  the  last  organized  army  in  the 
field.  The  hour  of  reconciliation  had  come,  and,  we  hoped, 
the  hour  also  of  punishment  for  the  leaders  in  rebellion. 

Eeconciliation !  there  was  much  to  remind  me  of  the 
word.  My  classmate  and  room-mate  at  West  Point,  a 
paroled  Eebel  officer  just  from  Mobile  on  his  way  home 
to  Maryland,  sent  his  card  to  me  in  Norfolk.  When  he 


DISTRICT   OF  EASTERN  VIRGINIA.  427 

appeared  I  recognized  him  in  a  moment,  though  he  wore 
a  shabby  suit  of  a  civilian ;  but  my  impulse  to  greet  him 
warmly  was  checked  by  his  downward  and  repellent  glance, 
as  if  he  were  averse  to  showing  a  cordial  feeling  for  his 
foe.  As  if  apologizing  for  his  call,  he  said :  — 

"  I  have  come,  sir,  because  I  am  in  trouble." 

"  Be  seated,"  I  replied ;  "  you  could  not  have  called  upon 
one  who  would  be  more  glad  to  relieve  you." 

"  I  want,"  he  continued,  "  to  go  to  my  wife  and  child.  I 
am  a  beggar,  and  want  work,  —  an  opportunity  to  earn 
something  to  live  on  in  the  future.  But  for  the  present  I 
want  money." 

"  I  see  in  you,"  I  replied,  "  my  old  classmate  and  friend. 
I  find  you  suffering  and  in  want,  and  you  shall  have  money 

and  all  the  privileges  I  can  give.     But, ,  tell  me,  how 

could  you,  though  Southern  born,  find  it  in  your  heart  to 
raise  your  hand  against  the  old  flag  ?  How  could  you  ?" 

"  Don't  talk  of  it,"  he  entreated  ;  "  don't  speak  of  anything 
that  has  passed,"  he  almost  supplicated.  "  But,  tell  me,  can 
I  be  exempt  from  the  penalties  of  the  law  ?  I  am  not,"  he 
continued,  "  by  Mr.  Johnson's  proclamation." 

"  But  you  can  be,  doubtless,  if  you  apply,"  I  replied. 

"  Then  I  shall  do  so,"  he  said,  as  he  arose  and  walked 
abruptly  though  courteously  from  my  office. 

Poor  fellow  !  I  thought ;  could  I  measure  his  dejection 
by  my  elation,  —  the  depths  of  his  grief  by  the  summits 
of  my  exultation  ?  As  I  would  have  had  him  do  to  me  if 
I  had  stood  like  him,  a  suppliant,  so  I  did  to  him ;  and  he 
kept  his  promise,  even  to  the  uttermost  farthing. 

And  now  I  come  to  the  close  of  my  chronicles.  A  last 
pull  in  a  launch,  with  my  good  and  kind  friend  Captain 
Lynch,  of  the  navy,  showed  us  many  Eebel  iron-clads  and 
rams  that  had  come  to  us  through  the  surrender.  There 


428  A  WAR  DIARY. 

was  the  "  Columbia,"  a  formidable  and  perfect  iron-clad, 
raised  in  Charleston  Harbor  and  towed  here  by  the  "  Van- 
derbilt,"  looking  a  shade  rusty  for  her  salt-water  immer 
sion;  the  "Albemarle,"  the  object  of  Cushing's  daring 
exploit,  with  much  of  her  iron  covering  removed,  to  lighten 
her  in  raising ;  the  "  Texas,"  with  only  her  hull  completed, 
captured  near  Eichmond ;  and  the  "  Atlanta,"  a  prize  to 
Captain  Kogers  in  Georgia.  Besides  these,  the  superb  har 
bor  held  two  of  our  own  monitors  and  many  war-ships  of 
other  kinds.  These  engines  of  destruction,  as  well  as  those 
who  had  surrendered  them,  both  proclaimed  alike  the  joy 
ful  period  of  Peace,  the  final  and  complete  triumph  of  the 
Federal  forces,  and  the  maintenance  and  vindication  of 
the  old  Union  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


AMKS,  GENERAL  ADELBERT,  com 
mands  brigade  under  General 
Gordon  in  Virginia,  151 ;  also, 
afterwards,  in  South  Carolina,  238, 
283  ;  his  opinion  of  the  causes  of 
failure  in  the  first  assault  on  Fort 
Fisher,  368  ;  is  engaged  in  the 
second  assault  on  that  fort,  369  ; 
his  gallant  conduct  in  the  same, 
374  ;  receives  the  surrender  of 
the  Fort,  375. 

Amusements  in  camp-life,  24-28. 

Antietam  (or  Sharpsburg),  battle 
of,  1-6. 

Armstrong,  Rev.  George  D.,  trial  of, 
by  General  Butler,  for  disloyal 
utterances,  406-412 ;  his  subse 
quent  appeal  to  General  Gordon, 
412-414. 

Army,  an,  how  death,  disease,  etc., 
dissipate  it,  232-234;  what  be 
comes  of  some  of  its  particles  after 
a  battle,  234,  235. 


BALCH,  Captain,  commanding  the 
ship-of-war  "  Pawnee,"  —  service 
on  the  Stono  River,  198-200,  208, 
209,  263-265,  268,  269  ;  the  writer 
dines  with  him,  200  ;  his  opinion 
of  the  feasibility  of  running  past 
the  forts  in  Charleston  Harbor,  201 . 

Baxter,  Captain,  commanding  the 
"  Empire  City,"  174,  175. 

Beauregard,  General,  commands 
Rebel  forces  at  Charleston,  S.  C., 
—  correspondence  with  Gilhnore, 
192,  193  ;  how  he  treated  Union 
prisoners  in  Charleston,  277. 


Beecher,  Chaplain,  peculiar  views 
of,  8. 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  nominates 
General  Butler  for  President,  356. 

Beef,  how  it  was  furnished  to  the 
soldiers  on  Folly  Island,  and  the 
quality  of  it,  226,  227. 

Blockade  of  Charleston  Harbor, 
action  of  the  foreign  consuls  in 
relation  to,  205. 

Blockade- running  in  Charleston  Har 
bor,  203,  204;  its  use  to  the 
Rebels  overestimated,  204,  205. 

British  subject,  a,  in  Virginia,  the 
writer's  experience  with,  and  anec 
dotes  of,  161-163,  165-167. 

Buchanan,  Captain,  Rebel  com 
mander  of  the  ram  "  Tennessee," 
—  his  bravery  in  Mobile  Bay,  334. 

Buchanan,  Captain,  of  the  'Federal 
marines  in  Charleston  Harbor, — 
dines  with  the  writer,  and  they 
both  indulge  in  reminiscences, 
250-253. 

Burke,  Captain,  the  Rebel  scout  and 
guerilla,  story  of  his  capture  and 
death,  16-21. 

Butler,  General  B.  F.,  in  command 
on  the  James,  352  ci  scq.;\\\s  opin 
ion  of  Gillmore  and  Baldy  Smith, 
352  ;  General  Gordon  is  ordered  to 
report  to  him,  352-354  ;  in  com 
mand  of  New  York  City,  354-356  ; 
receives  an  ovation  from  the  citizens 
of  New  York,  356  ;  at  Fortress 
Monroe,  — his  labor-saving  meth 
ods,  357,  358  ;  character  of  his  ad 
ministration  in  the  Department  of 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  359  ; 


432 


INDEX. 


his  brother-in-law's  connection  with 
the  unlawful  Rebel  trade  in  his  de 
partment,  365 ;  his  failure  to  cap 
ture  Fort  Fisher,  366-368  ;  his 
explanation  of  that  failure  to  the 
writer,  369,  370  ;  is  relieved  of  his 
command  and  sent  home,  370 ;  ex 
presses  his  indignation  thereon, 
370,  371  ;  his  farewell  order  to  his 
troops,  371  ;  his  official  report  in 
the  New  York  "Herald,"  371,372  ; 
is  suggested  for  U.  S.  Senator 
from  Mass.,  373  ;  suppression  of 
his  organ,  "The  New  Regime," 
in  Norfolk,  379,  380  ;  writes  sharp 
letters  to  General  Gordon,  400  ; 
desires  to  be  appointed  military 
governor  of  Richmond,  401  ;  his 
influence  with  President  Lincoln 
and  the  Republican  party,  402  ; 
his  attempt  with  the  Supreme 
Court  in  the  case  of  the  "Phila 
delphia,"  402  ;  his  trial  of  Rev. 
George  D.  Armstrong,  of  Norfolk, 
Va.,  for  disloyal  utterances,  406- 
412. 


CAMP-LIFE  on  Folly  Island  in 
Charleston  Harbor,  —  how  sol 
diers  lived  there,  225,  226  et  seq. 

Camp  Milton,  Florida,  capture  and 
destruction  of,  by  Union  troops 
under  General  Gordon,  383-385. 

Canby,  General,  commanding  at 
New  Orleans,  307,  308  ;  writes  to 
the  President  in  condemnation  of 
the  cotton  traffic,  348. 

Capture  of  General  Gordon,  Rebel 
plan  for,  112. 

Cavalry  service,  the,  allurements  of, 
23,  24. 

Cliancellorsville,  Hooker's  defeat  at, 
—  effect  of,  on  Federal  and  Rebel 
armies,  59. 

Charleston,  S.  C.,  siege  of,  175etseq.; 
bombardment  of,  194  ;  the  useless- 
ness  to  the  Union  cause  of  its  cap 
ture,  211,  212  ;  its  newspapers,  how 
they  were  procured  by  Union  pick 
ets,  and  the  information  they  con 
tained,  236,  237,  240,  259  ;  what 
its  people  said  to  the  London 
"  Times  "  correspondent,  276,  277. 


Chase,  Chief-Justice,  visit  of,  to  the 
writer,  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  417,  418  ; 
his  idea  of  the  policy  of  reconstruc 
tion  to  be  pursued,  417,  418. 

Civil  and  military  departments,  how 
they  sometimes  clashed,  261,  262. 

Claims  for  indemnification  and  pro 
tection,  piteous  and  urgent  char 
acter  of,  59,  60,  67-71,  101-103, 
107,  108,  110,  111. 

"  Clara  Bell,"  the,  passenger  steamer 
on  the  Mississippi,  —  destruction 
of,  by  the  Rebels,  320,  321. 

Cochrane,  General,  shoots  and  kills 
Lieut. -Colon el  Kimball.  at  Suffolk, 
Va.,  43. 

Coggswell,  Captain,  leads  the  ex 
pedition  to  capture  "  Old  Burke," 
the  Rebel  guerilla,  18,  22. 

Confederate  officers,  braggart  and 
boisterous  tone  of  some  captured, 
52,  53. 

"Continental,"  the,  passenger 
steamer  on  the  Mississippi,  — 
fiendish  attempt  by  a  Rebel  emis 
sary  to  destroy,  315,  316. 

Cook,  a  Dutch,  how  he  provided 
dinner  for  the  writer  and  his 
visitor,  227,  228. 

Cotton  trade,  the,  between  rebel 
lious  and  loyal  persons  during  the 
war,  —  dishonorable  nature  and 
pernicious  effects  of,  322-326, 
328,  348,  349  ;  how  it  was  carried 
on  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina, 
388-390. 

Curtis,  Colonel,  gallant  conduct  of, 
in  the  second  attack  on  Fort 
Fisher,  374 ;  is  wounded,  and 
receives  promotion,  374 ;  his  ac 
count  of  the  attack,  375. 


DAIILOREX,  Admiral,  commanding 
naval  forces  in  Charleston  Harbor, 
196,  197  ;  controversy  with  Gill- 
more,  202,  203,  245,  246  ;  bom 
bards  Fort  Sumter,  206,  207 ; 
bombards  Fort  Moultrie  and  other 
works  on  Sullivan's  Island,  216, 
217  ;  his  abortive  assault  on  Fort 
Sumter,  independent  of  Gillmore, 
220-222. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  his  address  to  his 


INDEX. 


433 


troops  at  Chattanooga,  257  ;  be 
gins  to  be  treated  with  contempt 
by,  and  ceases  to  be  an  oracle  to, 
the  Confederates,  391  ;  his  health 
drunk  in  his  own  wines,  in  his 
own  house,  by  Union  officers,  after 
his  flight  from  Richmond,  395 ; 
capture  of,  423  ;  imprisonment  in 
Fortress  Monroe,  423-425  ;  at 
tempt  to  resist  being  ironed,  423, 
424  ;  the  wisdom  of  his  prison- 
treatment  questioned,  424  ;  his  life 
in  confinement,  425  ;  is  indicted 
for  treason,  425,  426. 

Debarkation  of  General  Gordon's 
troops  at  Charleston,  S.  C.,  an 
account  of,  178. 

Deserter,  a,  the  execution  of,  163- 
165. 

Deserters,  information  from,  to  be 
received  with  caution,  272-274. 

Despondency,  feeling  of,  in  the  Army, 
considered,  7,  8  ;  in.  the  troops 
under  Gillmore  before  Charleston, 
S.  C.,  198. 

"  Dictator,"  the,  iron-clad,  descrip 
tion  of,  362-364. 

Difficulty,  the,  of  identifying  dead 
soldiers,  for  re-burial,  33  ;  anec 
dote  in  connection  with,  33,  34. 

Dinner,  a,  for  hungry  officers,  how  it 
was  planned  for  and  lost,  116-118. 

Dix,  Major-General  John  A.,  com 
mands  the  Department  of  Virginia, 
32  ;  General  Gordon  reports  to,  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  35  ;  conference 
with  the  writer  on  the  military 
situation,  122  ;  afterward  with  the 
same  and  other  general  officers, 
123-127. 

Dog,  a  favorite,  belonging  to  the 
writer's  staff,  —  allusion  to,  61. 

Dunn,  the  treachery  of,  11,  12. 

Dwight,  Major  Wilder,  his  last  let 
ter  to  his  mother,  3 ;  mortally 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Antie- 
tam,  3,  4. 


ENLISTMENT,  terms  of,  of  soldiers  in 
the  Army,  remarks  upon,  91,  92. 

Exchanges,  cartel  of,  as  bearing  on 
colored  troops,  —  President  Lin 
coln's  action  in  regard  to,  219. 


FARRAGUT,  Admiral,  commands 
Union  Navy  in  Mobile  Bay,  — 
the  writer  dines  with  him  on  the 
flag-ship  "  Hartford,"  341  ;  his 
account  of  the  action  in  Mobile 
Bay,  342  ;  his  opinion  of  torpedoes, 
342,  343  ;  he  believes  in  wooden 
ships,  343  ;  in  Virginia  before  the 
war,  347  ;  true  account  of  his 
being  lashed  to  the  rigging  of  the 
flag-ship  "Hartford,"  348;  enters 
Richmond  with  General  Gordon, 
393-395  ;  the  first,  with  the  writer, 
to  proceed  down  James  River  from 
Richmond,  after  the  fall  of  that 
city,  — incidents  of  the  trip,  396- 
399. 

Folly  Island,  in  Charleston  Harbor, 
occupied  by  General  Gordon's 
troops,  179  et  seq.  ;  description  of, 
224,  225  ;  encampment  of  troops 
there,  how  crowded  and  inconve 
nient,  225,  226  ;  incidents  of  life 
on,  240  ;  last  night  on,  of  the 
writer,  289. 

Fort  Fisher,  first  attack  on,  366- 
368  ;  second  attack  on,  and  capt 
ure  of,  by  Union  forces,  373-375. 

Fortress  Monroe,  and  its  vicinity, 
description  of,  358,  359. 

Foster,  General  John  G.,  command 
ing  the  Department  of  the  James, 
172,  173  ;  account  of  his  interview 
with  President  Lincoln,  172,  173. 

Fraternization  between  Union  and 
Rebel  soldiers,  100,  235,  236,  250, 
256,  257,  261,  266,  267. 

Frederick,  Maryland,  the  writer's 
reminiscences  of,  139,  140. 


GAINES,  Fort,  in  Mobile  Bay,  de 
scription  of,  336. 

Gallows,  the,  how  the  writer  suc 
ceeded  in  depriving  it  of  one  vic 
tim,  386. 

Getty,    General,    commands    Union 
forces  in  Virginia,   123,  125,  126, 
128,  129,  131,  133. 
ettysburg,  battle  of,  131-133. 
Gideonite,  a  female,  how  she  fired  a 
thirty-pounder  Parrott  gun  at  the 
_city  of  Charleston,  277,  278. 
illmore,  General  Q.  A.,  command- 


28 


434 


INDEX. 


ing  Union  land  forces  in  the  siege 
of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  176  et  seq.  ; 
notifies  Beauregard  of  his  inten 
tion  to  bombard  Charleston,  190, 
193  ;  Beauregard's  reply  to,  192, 
193  ;  his  Quixotic  plan  to  assault 
Sumter,  and  criticism  upon  it  by 
the  writer,  195,  196  ;  his  unreason 
able  assumptions  and  claims,  196, 
197  ;  his  ill-feeling  towards  Ad 
miral  Dahlgren,  202,  203,  206, 
207 ;  his  disastrous  attempt  to 
capture  Fort  Gregg,  210,  211  ; 
exults  in  his  own  prowess,  216  ; 
attempts  to  steal  from  Dahlgren  the 
honor  of  capturing  Fort  Sumter, 
220-222  ;  his  unpi-ovoked  quarrel 
with  Dahlgren,  243-246  ;  present 
ation  of  an  American  eagle  to,  247, 
248  ;  failure  of  his  plans  before 
Charleston,  254,  255  ;  tries  to  use 
Dahlgren  as  a  pack-horse,  255  ; 
removes  his  headquarters  to  Hil 
ton  Head,  271  ;  his  disastrous 
operations  in  Florida,  280-284  ; 
is  ordered  to  report  to  General  B. 
F.  Butler,  287. 

Grant,  General,  the  writer's  inter 
view  with  him  at  City  Point, 
Va.,  350-352;  the  advice  he  re 
ceived  as  to  the  best  way  to  take 
Richmond,  351  ;  his  report  on 
Butler's  Fort  Fisher  fiasco,  372  ; 
pursues  and  finally  captures  Lee, 
399. 

Guide,  a,  how  one  was  secured  by 
General  Gordon  in  Florida,  301. 


HAGERSTOWN,  Rebel  earthworks  at, 
143,  144;  Lee's  flight  from,  144, 
145. 

Halleck,  General,  ct>mmander-in- 
chief  of  the  Union  forces,  —  the 
writer's  interview  with,  and  im 
pressions  of,  137  ;  his  policy  to 
wards  vanquished  and  returning 
Rebels,  419. 

Hancock,  General  W.  S.,  his  magni 
ficent  charge  at  the  first  battle  of 
Williamsburg,  92,  93. 

Harper's  Ferry,  scenery  about,  9, 10. 

Hilton  Head,  S.  C.,  description  of, 
and  incidents  related  of,  290-293. 


Hooker,  General,  a  criticism  on  his 
generalship,  77,  78. 

"  Housatonic,"  the,  battle-ship,  de 
struction  of,  by  the  Rebels  in 
Charleston  Harbor,  287,  288. 

Howard,  General,  the  writer's  inter 
view  with,  and  impressions  of, 
148,  149. 

Hubbard,  Dr.,  conversation  with, 
by  the  writer,  103-107. 


IRONSIDES,  NEW,"  the,  battle 
ship,  daring  attempt  by  the  Rebels 
to  destroy,  in  Charleston  Harbor, 

248,  249." 


JONES,  Dr.,  a  conversation  with,  by 
the  writer,  118-120. 


KEITT  (ex-Congressman),  command 
ing  Rebel  troops  in  Fort  Wagner, 
—  doubtful  valor  of,  236,  237. 

Keyes,  General,  commanding  Union 
forces  in  Virginia,  88,  89,  111, 
112,  115,  129  ;  his  controversy 
with  General  Wise,  90,  91 ;  re 
marks  upon  his  generalship  and 
the  character  of  his  despatches  to 
Dix,  129,  130. 

Kilpatrick,  General,  account  of  his 
raid  on  Richmond,  74-77. 

Kimberly  Brothers,  how  they 
weighed  turkeys  at  Fortress  Mon 
roe,  359,  360. 


LEE,  GENERAL  ROBERT  E.,  his  mis 
takes  and  his  escape  at  Gettys 
burg,  133  ;  his  address  to  his 
troops  after  the  battle  of  Gettys 
burg,  140  ;  his  official  report  on 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  146,  147  ; 
pursuit  of  him  after  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  153  ct  seq. ;  surrender 
of,  400. 

Lee's  Mills,  Rebel  defences  at,  88. 

Legareville,  S.  C.,  incidents  related 
of,  259,  260  ;  an  affair  at,  263- 
265. 

Libby  Prison,  in  Richmond,  visited 
by  the  writer,  396,  397. 


INDEX. 


435 


Lincoln,  President,  visits  the  scene 
of  military  operations  before  Rich 
mond,  391,  392  ;  enters  Richmond 
by  the  James  River,  after  the 
evacuation  of  that  city,  399  ;  as 
sassination  of,  403,  404. 

Longstreet,  General,  commands  the 
Rebels  besieging  Suffolk,  Va.,  35, 
40  ;  his  intrenchments  at  Suffolk 
and  retreat  from,  47-51. 

Look-outs  in  military  operations,  — 
their  value,  and  how  they  may  be 
artificially  made,  269,  270. 


MANSFIELD,  General,  as  a  man  and 
soldier,  3. 

Maryland  Heights,  its  occupation  by 
General  Gordon,  6. 

McClellan,  General  George  B.,  his 
eagerness  to  engage  the  enemy,  2  ; 
his  siege  works  and  operations  be 
fore  Yorktown  a  proof  of  his  mili 
tary  genius,  87-89. 

McKibben,  Colonel,  incident  in  rela 
tion  to,  128. 

Meade,  General,  replaces  Hooker  in 
command  of  the  Army  of  the  Po 
tomac,  127;  fights  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  131-133 ;  march  of 
General  Gordon's  troops  to  rein 
force,  135  et  seq.;  interview  of  the 
writer  with,  141-143  ;  censured  by 
Hal  leek,  and  asks  to  be  relieved, 
150,  151  i  criticisms  on,  for  not 
attacking  and  capturing  Lee  after 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  160,  161. 

Meum  et  tvMm^  how  the  sense  of,  is 
destroyed  by  war,  —  anecdotes  in 
regard  to,  57-59. 

Morgan,  Fort,  in  Mobile  Bay,  siege 
of,  by  Union  forces,  335  ;  surren 
der  of,  337-341  ;  occupation  of, 
by  Union  troops,  340,  341. 

Morris  Island,  in  Charleston  Harbor, 
the  possession  of,  a  part  of  Gill- 
more's  design  in  besieging  Charles 
ton,  187  ;  its  final  entire  evacua 
tion  by  the  Rebels,  213. 


KAVY,  the,  value  of  its  services  in 
the  siege  of  Charleston,  S.  C., 
190-192. 


Negroes,  as  soldiers,  value  of,  —  how 
in  some  instances  they  were  en 
listed,  275  ;  as  emancipated  slaves, 
their  trials,  291  ;  at  Hampton, Va., 
360,  362. 

Newport  News,  Virginia,  ruins  at, 
170,  172. 

New  Orleans,  what  the  writer  found 
and  saw  there,  306,  307. 

New  York  City,  mob  of  Rebel  sym 
pathizers  in,  147,  148  ;  under  But 
ler's  military  rule,  354-356. 

Norfolk,  Virginia,  remarks  upon,  and 
its  rebellious  people,  37,  38. 


"OLD  S "  (Colonel),  amusing 

anecdotes  of,  28,  29. 

"Olive  Branch,"  the, '  passenger 
steamer  on  the  Mississippi,  the 
writer's  experience  on,  308-313. 

Olustee,  Florida,  battle  of,  and  Union 
defeat  at,  282,  283. 

Ord,  General,  ordered  to  relieve  Gen 
eral  Gordon  in  his  command  at 
West  Point,  80-82  ;  then  ordered 
to  Vicksburg,  83  ;  relieves  Butler 
in  command  of  the  Department  of 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  376. 


PAGE,  Captain,  Rebel  commander  of 
Fort  Morgan,  337  ;  surrenders  the 
Fort  to  Union  troops,  338  ;  his 
characteristics,  338,  345  ;  criti 
cism  of  his  conduct  and  courage, 
339,  340 ;  opposed  secession  in 
Virginia  before  the  war,  347. 

Peck,  General,  commands  at  Suffolk, 
Va.,  39,  40  ;  his  kindness  to  the 
contrabands  fleeing  to  his  lines, 
40,  41. 

Pickett,  General  (Rebel),  incident  in 
relation  to,  128. 

Pierpont,  Governor  of  Virginia,  his 
relations  with  Butler,  401  ;  his 
difficulties  in  his  Governorship, 
423. 

Porter,  Admiral,  commands  the  fleet 
in  the  first  attack  on  Fort  Fisher, 
368,  369 ;  enters  Richmond  by 
the  James  River,  with  President 
Lincoln,  after  the  evacuation  of 
that  city,  399. 


436 


INDEX. 


Proclamation  of  Emancipation  by 
President  Lincoln,  reflections  up 
on,  7. 


REBELS,  the,  inhumanity  of  their 
warfare,  346  ;  vanquished  and  re 
turning,  —  how  received,  405-416, 
419-423,  426,  427. 

Reconciliation  !  —  incident  in  the 
writer's  experience  reminding  him 
of  the  significance  of  the  word, 
426,  427. 

Red-tape  in  the  Army,  some  account 
of,  226,  229-232. 

Reflections  and  Rumors,  as  to  mili 
tary  conditions  and  movements, 
109-111,  114-116,  130-134,  150, 
238,  241,  242,  247,  256,  257. 

Richmond,  capital  city  of  the  Con 
federacy,  value  to  the  Union  cause 
of  its  capture  considered,  124 ; 
feasibility  of  its  capture  consid 
ered,  125-127  ;  its  fall,  and  occu 
pation  by  Federal  troops  under 
Weitzel,  392. 

Rosecrans,  General,  commanding 
Union  forces  in  Tennessee,  —  his 
defeat  there,  and  retirement  to 
Chattanooga,  243,  246  ;  turns  up 
on  and  whips  General  Bragg, 
247. 


SAVANNAH,  Georgia,  its  capture,  and 
how  the  news  of,  was  received 
by  cotton-traders  and  Treasury- 
agents,  364,  365. 

Schimmelfeuing,  General,  brigade- 
commander  under  General  Gordon 
in  Virginia,  151;  also  under  same 
in  South  Carolina,  223  ;  his  ser 
vices  and  capacity,  224  ;  his  use 
of  captured  despatches,  285,  286. 

Schurz,  General  Carl,  the  writer's  in 
terview  with,  and  impressions  of, 
149;  his  own  account  of  stragglers 
from  his  corps,  157. 

Scott,  Captain,  plans  and  assists  to 
capture  "Old  Burke,"  18,  21,  22; 
leads  a  cavalry  raid  on  Shepherds- 
town,  22,  23. 

Second  Massachusetts  Regiment,  its 
losses  in  the  war,  6. 


Seward,  Secretary,  visits  the  writer 
at  Norfolk,  Virginia,  391,  392;  is 
cautious  and  sanguine  as  usual, 
392;  attempted  assassination  of, 
403,  404. 

Seymour,  General  Truman,  com 
mands  Union  forces  in  Florida 
under  Gillmore,  280-284;  his  de 
feat  at  Olustee,  282,  283;  charged 
by  Gillmore  with  disobedience  of 
orders,  284. 

Sheridan,  General  Phil.,  his  arrival 
at  White  House,  Va.,  and  the 
news  he  brought,  390;  his  subse 
quent  successes,  392. 

Sherman,  General  W.  T.,  his  cap 
ture  of  Savannah,  Ga.,  364. 

Slatersville,  cowardly  murder  of 
Union  soldiers  near,  97. 

Slaves,  fugitive,  —  their  invaluable 
aid  to  the  Union  cause,  their  pe 
culiarities,  and  anecdotes  of,  64-67, 
69-74. 

Slavery,  not  true  that  the  South 
hated  it,  99. 

Small,  Robert,  account  of  his  capture 
of  the  Rebel  steamer  "Planter," 
217-219. 

Stanton,  E.  M.  (Secretary  of  War), 
his  visit  to  the  writer  at  Norfolk, 
Va.,  382-384. 

Stephens,  Alexander  H.,  attempted 
mission  of,  134;  arrives  at  City 
Point,  Va.,  to  treat  of  peace  with 
President  Lincoln  and  Secretary 
Seward,  385. 

Stevenson,  General,  commanding 
troops  in  Charleston  Harbor,  181, 
182;  deputed  to  lead  the  storming 
column  on  Fort  Wagner,  212,  213. 

Stone  Fleet,  the,  which  was  sunk  in 
Charleston  Harbor,  story  of,  257, 
258. 

Stonewall  Jackson,  how  rumor  of  his 
death  was  received,  56;  why  he 
did  not  attack  Banks,  146. 

Stono  River,  Rebel  intrenchments 
on,  208,  209. 

Stuart,  General,  raid  of,  into  Penn 
sylvania,  10,  11. 

Sufferings  of  men  and  animals  in  the 
Avar,  30. 

Suffolk,  Virginia,  the  situation  at, 
under  General  Peck,  35,  39,  et  seq.; 


INDEX. 


437 


the  writer's  journey  to,  to  report 
to  General  P.,  36-39;  skirmish  at, 
41,  42;  the  writer's  experiences 
at,  39-52. 

Sumter,  Fort,  siege  and  bombard 
ment  of,  by  Union  forces,  177  et 
seq. ;  combined  attack  on,  by  naval 
and  land  forces,  183,  184;  effect  of 
the  bombardment  on,  184,  186, 
189;  its  invincibility,  202,  206, 
207,  222,  223,  238;  the  honor  of 
attempting  its  capture  enviously 
disputed  by  Dahlgren  and  Gill- 
more,  220-222. 

Sunday  in  camp,  how  the  writer 
spent  one,  241,  242. 

TAX  COMMISSIONERS,  in  Virginia, 
dishonest  practices  of,  386,  387. 

Telegraphic  communications,  how 
they  were  stolen  by  tapping  the 
wires,  239,  285,  286. 

Terry,  General,  commands  military 
force  in  the  second  attack  on  Fort 
Fisher,  369;  promoted  for  his  gal 
lant  conduct  in  capturing  Fort 
Fisher,  374. 

Torpedoes,  their  use  by  the  Rebels 
in  the  war,  199,  200;  fatal  charac 
ter  of  their  obstructions  to  the 
Union  forces,  212;  in  Forts  Wag 
ner  and  Gregg,  220;  on  Folly  Is 
land,  220;  on  the  St.  John's  River, 
S.  C.,  269;  on  the  St.  John's  in 
Florida,  295;  Admiral  Farragut's 
opinion  of,  342,  343. 

Trade,  in  contraband  "of  war,  375- 
378,  379;  military  commission  to 
inquire  into,  appointed,  376;  tes 
timony  before  the  commission  in 
regard  to,  377,  378;  opposition  to 
its  suppression,  380,  381;  Grant's 
order  in  regard  to,  380,  381 ;  means 
of  largely  supplying  Lee's  army 
with  food,  388. 

Treason,  indictments  for,  426. 

VICKSBURG,  rumor  of  the  fall  of,  91 ; 

confirmation  of  this  rumor,   133, 

134. 
Viele,  General,  commands  at  Norfolk, 

Va.,  some  experiences  of,  37,  38. 
Virginia,movement  of  the  Army  into, 


11 ;  the  writer's  opinion  of  the  in 
telligence  of  its  people,  155. 

WAGNER,  Fort,  in  Charleston  Har 
bor,  siege  of,  181  et  seq. ;  Gill- 
more's  first  attack  on,  and  its  sad 
results,  188,  189;  final  evacuation 
of,  by  the  Rebels,  213;  its  strength 
and  appointments,  214-216. 

Washburn,  General  C.  C.,  in  com 
mand  of  the  District  of  West  Ten 
nessee,  the  writer's  interview  with, 
322-326. 

Weitzel,  General,  accompanies  But 
ler  in  his  attack  on  Fort  Fisher, 
366-368;  the  measure  of  his  re 
sponsibility  in  that  affair  doubtful, 
368;  he  enters  Richmond  after  its 
evacuation  by  the  Rebels,  392. 

West,  Colonel,  commanding  Union 
troops  before  Williamsburg,  Va. ,  93. 

West  Point,  Virginia,  General  Gordon 
in  command  at,  55  et  seq. ;  throws 
up  intrenchments  there,  56,  57, 
evacuation  of,  by  Union  forces, 
84-86. 

White  House,  Virginia,  historic  in 
terest  of,  122  ;  church  at,  where 
George  Washington  was  married 
to  Martha  Custis,  132. 

Whiting,  Captain,  commanding  the 
gunboat  "Ottawa"  in  Charleston 
Harbor,  —  his  opinion  of  the  feasi 
bility  of  running  past  the  forts  in 
the  harbor,  201,  202;  his  indigna 
tion  at  the  action  of  foreign  con 
suls  at  Charleston,  205. 

Wilde,  General,  visit  of,  to  the  writer 
in  camp,  241. 

Williamsburg,  Virginia,  battle-field 
of,  92,  93;  Hancock's  charge  at, 
92  ;  historic  hall  in,  which  rang 
with  the  eloquence  of  Patrick 
Henry,  94;  its  famous  college,  94. 

Wise,  General,  commands  Rebel  forces 
at  Williamsburg,  Va.,  90;  his  con 
troversy  with  the  Union  General 
Keyes,  90,  91;  his  retreat  to  Rich 
mond,  95,  96;  his  correspondence 
with  General  Gordon,  414,  415. 

YORKTOWN,  description  of,  rebel  for 
tifications  at,  and  McClellan's  siege- 
works  before,  87,  88. 


14  DAV  Tier? 
14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

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